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X5 Retail Group

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Russian retailer Magnit has seen profits benefit from improved purchasing terms and cost controls as it expanded its store footprint over the past 12 months.

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X5 Retail Group has had a turbulent year. Management changes and a significant strategic shift that has sidelined the importance of M&A to the group's expansion plans have combined with an intensely competitive market to leave Russia's largest retailer losing share to its peers. Katy Askew suggests the next 12 months will be telling for the company.

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News that Andrei Gusev will stand down as X5 Retail Group chief executive caused shares in the Russian retailer to sink to a 52-week low on Saturday (14 July). The market responded negatively to fears that an unstable management team will be unable to drive growth as X5 struggles to improve organic sales trends. The sudden nature of the announcement and lack of clarity over the reasons for Gusev's departure augmented these concerns. Katy Askew reports.

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This week featured the surprise news that Morrisons acquired a stake in US online grocer Fresh Direct, while Greencore was outfoxed in its bid to acquire Boparan. Meanwhile just-food attended the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum. Here's the best of what was said this week:

Russian retail colossus Magnit can lay claim to having had a rather buoyant year. As one of the country's largest food retailers, it has grown in tandem with the country's middle-class and seen its profits more than double in the first half of 2012. Michelle Russell talks to Oleg Goncharov, Magnit's deputy CEO and investor relations director, about the retailer's confidence in the market, opportunities for growth and the year ahead.

Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has reported a fall in margins in the first quarter as it embarked on a promotional offensive to lure in customers.

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Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has reported a 6% rise in like-for-like sales for the first quarter of 2014, a faster rate of growth than seen in 2013.

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Russia's X5 Retail Group has finalised a deal to sell its stores in Ukraine, marking its exit from the country.

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Ukranian confectionery firm Roshen's chocolate factory in Lypetsk, Russia has been seized by police.

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Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has reportedly sold its Ukraine stores to local rival Varus in a US$5-10m deal that sees the retail giant exit the country.

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Russian retailer X5 Retail Group today (6 March) reported higher sales and a return to profitability in 2013.

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Russian retailer X5 Retail Group has said that it will push ahead with plans to improve its performance in 2014 in the face of what it described as "ebbing" consumer confidence in the country.

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Auchan has outlined plans to open ten to 14 stores in Russia in 2014 across its three different formats.

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Shares in X5 Retail Group climbed this morning (12 November) after the Russian retailer booked higher third-quarter sales and profits.

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X5 Retail Group saw its like-for-like sales slide in the third quarter as the Russian retail giant experienced a decline in customer traffic.

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Russian retail giant X5 Retail Group has declined to comment on reports it may acquire Moscow-based competitor Seventh Continent.

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Russian retail giant X5 Retail Group saw its earnings climb in the first half of the year, driven by increased sales from new store openings.

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Russian retail giant X5 Retail Group has booked an increase in first-half sales, boosted by price increases and store openings.

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Russian retail giant Magnit has booked an increase in profits in the first quarter of the year.

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The industry's first-quarter results continued to pour in last week and two of France's leading retailers, Carrefour and Casino revealed sales figures that got analysts talking. Carrefour appeared pleased with its domestic performance, while Casino was encouraged by the results of recent pricing initiatives. Elsewhere, Tesco finally confirmed its plans to exit the US and revealed it had received and was pursuing interest in the business.

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Major food manufacturers began to report their first-quarter results last week. Nestle came under scrutiny for its performance in emerging markets. A cautious Danone saw signs of improvement from its European dairy operations, while its infant formula business was buoyant. Elsewhere, we shone the spotlight on the recent rationing of formula in Western markets amid high demand in China, looked at Marks and Spencer's latest European venture and analysed Magnit's move to Russian retail's top spot.

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UK-based R&R Ice Cream last week snapped up local rival Fredericks Dairies, a deal its CEO told us will help it compete better with Unilever. We spoke to M&A analysts about the potential sale of Burton's Biscuit Co. and to the chairman of Canada's Dare Foods about his expansion plans. In Europe, the sector was rocked by fresh horsemeat revelations, including news an Asda product contained the veterinary drug phenylbutazone.

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X5 Retail Group has booked an 8.1% increase in first-quarter net sales, driven by store openings - although like-for-like sales were less buoyant.

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X5 Retail Group, Russia's largest retailer by sales, has reported an annual loss of over US$126m after impairment charges hit its bottom line.

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This week saw the debate around the food industry's role in the obesity epidemic come to the fore once again, as the UK Government warned that the industry must do more or face the possibility of legislation. The inauguration of Barack Obama for his second term in office gave us a timely opportunity to look at what has been achieved under his administration - and what could be in store for US food makers. Meanwhile, news that Christine Tacon has been named UK Groceries Code Adjudicator put supply chain relationships firmly in the spotlight. We were able to delve a little deeper into Tacon's take on the subject when we interviewed her shortly after her appointment.

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The release of X5 Retail Group's sales figures has prompted pundits to suggest that Magnit could overtake X5 as Russia's largest retailer this year.

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X5 Retail Group, Russia's largest retailer by sales, reported an 8.3% rise in net sales for fiscal 2012, driven by higher revenues at the group's discount formats.

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The board of Russia's X5 Retail Group has nominated interim CEO Stephan DuCharme to take the post permanently, as new figures show that store openings lifted the firm's sales in 2012.