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Who owns chain stores in Russia. People's grocery stores in Russia, located within walking distance, "Pyaterochka", "Kopeyka", "Narodny", etc. belong to ... foreign companies. Perhaps this information will A New Look why prices are rising, why supermarkets do not support a Russian manufacturer, why a network of small retailers is being destroyed everywhere grocery stores and where the money goes. Products and prices for them are more serious, more painful and more important for every person in the country than distant and incomprehensible politics, economics and finances. Here is a list of countries where the largest grocery chains are registered, with hundreds of thousands of stores throughout Russia 1. Auchan (France), 2. OK (Luxembourg), 3. Pyaterochka (Netherlands), 4. Perekrestok "(Netherlands), 5. "Carousel" (Netherlands), 6. "MetroCash & Carry" (Germany), 7. "Tape" (British Virgin Islands), 8. "Globe" (Cyprus), 9. "Billa" (Austria ), 10. Zelgros (Germany), 11. Leroy Merlin (France), 12. Magnit (Cypriot offshore Lavreno Ltd.), 13. Kopeyka (Netherlands), 14. We (Netherlands ), 15. Mercado Supercenter (Netherlands), 16. Basket (Netherlands), 17. Paterson (Netherlands), 18. Narodny (Netherlands), 19. Simbirka (Netherlands), 20. Proviant (Netherlands), 21. Fair (Netherlands), 22. Troika (Netherlands), 23. Family (Netherlands), 24. Economical Family (Netherlands), 25. World of Products (Netherlands), 26. "A5" (Netherlands), 27. "Spar" (Netherlands), 28. "Universam" (Netherlands), 29. "Tamerlan" (Netherlands), 30. "Purchase" (Netherlands)." Very big oh percent of the market and a considerable segment of our wallet falls on the goods of the necessity that you and I must support every day. This is personal hygiene products. This and detergents. This and other household chemicals that we use almost in automatic mode. But you go to the store and what do you see? foreign brands. Endless high cost,” says Gleb Veshchaev, director of the Krass information and analytical center for social technologies. “It turns out that foreign capital has penetrated with its tentacles into every cell Russian business. And here, on the spot, chain hypermarkets take a protective position precisely in relation to Western manufacturers. The chain closes, turning Russia into a tool for pumping money out of Russian population and transporting them to third countries. Chain stores are the main striking force of Western business. They, like huge vacuum cleaners, suck cash flows and withdraw the currency abroad. While hypermarkets are openly working against Russia. Yes, hypermarkets have destroyed the Russian retail network. Yes, they left a large part of the population without work and without the opportunity to support their families. Then at least give normal service in return. But he is not. Lobbying for Western interests trademarks, undervaluation, games with the prices of currencies - everything is aimed at ensuring that Russian territory support the overseas market and drown Russian manufacturers. While hypermarkets function like huge factories for the export of profits from Russia. “Despite all the chains' political statements that, they say, they keep their prices, the entire burden in fulfilling this statement fell on the producers. The networks themselves have not reduced their costs. They passed it on to the manufacturer. It's the producers who keep the prices normal. And not only keep, but even reduce. Networks, instead of the announced reduction or retention of prices, also raised prices for manufacturers. If earlier the manufacturer returned 5 percent to the network, now it is 10 percent in the form of, so to speak, internal bonuses. And here we also need to add a variety of fees, marketing fees, etc. Even logistics, which was also reduced today, and it laid an additional burden on the shoulders of the manufacturer.” We can’t really talk about any import substitution, Veshchaev believes, because the West does not intend to negotiate with Russia. And grocery store chains are "the striking force of Western business." They suck money out of the population and take it abroad at a tremendous pace. It has become quite obvious that grocery chain stores are now part of the political system. Lobbying the interests of Western brands, lowering the cost, playing with the prices of currencies - everything is aimed at supporting the foreign market on Russian territory and drowning Russian manufacturers. But each of us, for his part, is able to choose the place where to buy and the goods. Even in Western chain stores, we can choose a domestic product or a product instead of an imported one and, thus, "vote with the ruble."

Andrei Rogachev's Verny grocery retailer is considering opening compact hypermarkets with an area of ​​about 2.5 thousand square meters. m. Stores of the new format can get a Frank sign, as the creators of "Verny" originally planned to name their chain.

"Kommersant" became aware of the details of the development of the Verny network of Andrei Rogachev, one of the creators of the Pyaterochka and Karusel projects (now, together with the Perekrestok network, they are part of X5 Retail Group, whose shareholder was previously Mr. Rogachev). According to Oleg Vysotsky, general director of Verny, the company can make a decision to open stores of a new format for itself within six months. Stores should appear in the suburbs of Moscow and the suburbs of St. Petersburg, in settlements with a population of 50 thousand people.

By August 1, Verny, which now operates 70 stores in the capital and Northwestern regions, intends to increase their number to 100 outlets. When their number reaches 200 outlets, the retailer will discuss the business model of hypermarkets. "Faithful" at the end of winter was eyeing objects with an area of ​​​​2.5-3 thousand square meters. m, told Kommersant several retail real estate brokers.

The plans of Andrey Rogachev together with the former managers of X5 Retail Group to create a grocery chain of discounters became known in May last year. Within three years, Mr. Rogachev was going to open at least 400 stores, Oleg Vysotsky, the former head of Pyaterochka, was invited to head the chain. The network development was based on the strategy of "soft discounter" stores on the area of ​​200-650 sq. m with an assortment of about 3.5 thousand items. The first stores were opened in November 2012 in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

According to Rosstat, the total revenue of the ten largest grocery retailers in 2012 amounted to 19.5% of the retail trade turnover, or 1.9 trillion rubles. According to Infoline, the market capacity of food products in the Moscow region (including New Moscow) in 2013 will exceed $19 billion (in Moscow - $63 billion), in the Leningrad region - $4 billion (in St. Petersburg - $11.5 billion).

In Russia, it is necessary to create "an alternative to existing networks that have tortured suppliers," Andrey Rogachev told Kommersant earlier. According to X5 Retail Group, its share in the food retail market in 2012 was 5.6% with revenue of $15.7 billion. The company operates more than 3.8 thousand stores. Market share Magnit accounted for 5.1% with a revenue of $14.2 billion, the network includes more than 7 thousand stations. outlets. True, already in the first quarter, X5 Retail Group lost leadership to Magnit not only in terms of the number of stores, but also in terms of revenue (126.3 billion versus 131.2 billion rubles).

Development Director of DNA Realty Evgeny Gushcha recalls that rental rates for premises with an area of ​​​​about 2.5 thousand square meters. m will be higher than for large hypermarkets. IN shopping malls or detached buildings in Moscow, the rental rate is 2-3 thousand square meters. m will be approximately $ 0.6-1 thousand per 1 sq. m. m per year, in the Moscow region rates can be 30-40% lower - $ 350-700 per 1 sq. m. m per year, depending on the distance from the Moscow Ring Road.

Opening of small format hypermarkets, which are easier to build due to the smaller size of the site and in which priority is given to food products, is a trend, says Mikhail Burmistrov, head of Infoline-Analytics. For example, small-format Magnit Family hypermarkets outperform classic Magnit hypermarkets in terms of sales per square meter. m by 25-30%.

According to the results of the first quarter, Magnit had 132 hypermarkets, of which 22 were compact Magnit Semeyny, in the structure of the retailer's revenue, hypermarkets accounted for 17%, that is, 22.3 billion rubles. The grocery retail market is not yet filled, says the main owner of Magnit, Sergei Galitsky. But, he adds, "time will tell how successfully the Verny idea will be implemented."

Andrey Rogachev draws business ideas from the air. And like a dragon, in place of one severed head - successful project- a new one, even more promising, is growing. Every time he starts projects from scratch and brings them to mind-blowing success. Thanks to Rogachev, LEK, Pyaterochka, Karusel, Verny, the Veterok network of markets became known to everyone, and the founder himself gained fame and a place on the Forbes list of 200 richest businessmen in Russia.

Dossier:

• FULL NAME:
• Date of Birth: January 17, 1964, Tula
• Education: Leningrad Meteorological Institute
• the date of the beginning entrepreneurial activity/age: 1989 / 25 years
• Type of activity at the start:"Environmental Control Laboratory", real estate
• Current activity: Private investor, Verny chain of stores, Veterok markets
• Current state:$750 million, according to Forbes for 2017

Andrey Rogachev is a charismatic personality and a vivid example of an entrepreneur modern Russia. He is fundamentally different from businessmen from the Forbes lists, as he built his own enterprises, developed his business from scratch. He didn't buy ready-made ideas, did not participate in the redistribution, did not make acquaintances with the right people.

“People are always looking for a simple explanation for things that are inexplicable from their point of view. If a person has money, where did he get it from? Stole. More options: Komsomol or party money .... protection of politicians. ... When we announced the real owners of Pyaterochka, everyone was very surprised, because there were no big names there, ”- A. Rogachev

The business success story of Andrey Rogachev is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. After all, she can teach a lot and, above all, look at life in a completely different way, as if from the outside.

He carefully "grows" projects to maturity. And painlessly part with them. Such projects were the Pyaterochka discounter chain and the Karusel hypermarket chain, from which Rogachev made a good harvest.

After several years spent in America, the hero returns to his homeland to create new business, in its scope is not inferior to the previous ones. And although Russia knows many examples of the return of oligarchs to the country, for example, Evgeny Chichvarkin, Mikhail Gutseriev, Vladimir Gusinsky, with new promising ideas units come.

In 2012, Rogachev simultaneously launches the Verny discount chain and its American sister Okey-Dokey. By the end of 2016, the project reached the break-even point, but it is not known whether Rogachev will “ripen” for the sale of a new offspring.

Everything is possible. Indeed, in 2015, another major project was launched - Rogachev became the owner of the Veterok market chain, which combines the Kopteevsky and Northern markets, as well as Moscow and Kashirsky.

“At the heart of creating great companies (and a great company is something that causes surprise and respect among professionals) there are only three things: vision, will and responsibility. Vision - how to create this company. Will - because everyone will resist it, including yourself. Responsibility - because such a thing is not created for a week or two, great companies live a long time, ”- A. Rogachev

The great companies that became the basis of Andrey Rogachev's short biography brought their founder not only spiritual satisfaction, but also fabulous profits. Since 2005, he has been on the Forbes list of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia.

Source: Forbes

The dynamics of changes is clearly demonstrated in the graph.

Childhood and education

Part of the biography of Andrei Rogachev before the hero entered the big “business voyage” was practically not covered by the media. It is well known that:

• the future millionaire (Russian by nationality) was born in the city of Tula in 1964;
• in 1986 he received a degree in hydrology from the Leningrad Meteorological Institute.

Maybe the scarcity of information is connected with Rogachev's attitude to education as such.

“I'm just pretending to be smart. I have four educations, and they brought me nothing but vision minus eight, ”- A. Rogachev

Or the desire of the hero to sculpt his own destiny and grab luck by the tail exclusively with his own hands. And this opportunity came to the guy only with the advent of big business.

“In order to do something successfully, it is not necessary to have an education. It’s not the smart or the educated who win, but the active ones win”, - A. Rogachev

By the way, the businessman is stingy with statements not only about his own education, but also about his ex-wife and 2 children.

"The first pancake is lumpy" - LEK

It is not known for certain where the 25-year-old graduate of a Leningrad university got the money to open his own business in 1989.

But the "Environmental Control Laboratory" was born. And the first direction of its activity was the production of gas analyzers and research and production activities.

This later the company will become a major developer in the Leningrad region and in the North-West region. But before that she will go through the stages becoming.

The direction of the company changed with the advent of Pavel Andreev in 1992. At first they rented out premises, later they started building housing.

“Pavel Andreev was found through an ad. He became a co-owner of LEK thanks to his talent and excellent abilities, as well as his attitude to win and achieve goals, ”A. Rogachev.
Source: Delovoy Petersburg

Rice. 2. On the left, Pavel Andreev, Rogachev avoids cameras.
Source: Delovoy Petersburg

But the cooperation ended in a big scandal and division of business.

In 2011, Andreev withdraws LEK assets to own structures, and Rogachev gets the Makromir company, which was opened in 2001 as a commercial real estate developer.

However, at the time of the rupture of business relations between the partners, Makromir was on the verge of bankruptcy, and Rogachev actually got only 5 shopping malls: French Boulevard, Rodeo Drive, Fiolent, Felicita, City Mall, as well as frozen long-term construction "Dolgoozerny". And debts, of which $163 million the businessman had to pay alone. But this did not save the situation - Makromir was sold to Fort Group, along with all the shopping malls, debts and claims.

Deal for Pyaterochka

In retail, Rogachev turned out to be more successful. The businessman took up trade in parallel with the construction business.

“I am a hybrid of an engineer and a peasant. An engineer knows how mechanisms work, and a peasant knows how everything in the world interacts, is born and matures, ”- A. Rogachev

The idea to open their own stores arose in 1998 after the merger:

• Unikan company, owned by Rogachev and specializing in the wholesale trade of imported canned food;
• Trade House "LEK" of Alexander Hydra, which traded wholesale imported yogurts.

Tatyana Frankus and Igor Vidyaev also became Agrotorg partners.

New company"Agrotorg" was originally focused on wholesale trade. But after the crisis, imported goods ceased to be sold, and it was decided to reorient the business to retail to sell off hung products.

So in 1999, the first Pyaterochka store appeared in St. Petersburg.

The Verny chain, created three years ago by Pyaterochka founder Andrey Rogachev, last year showed the highest revenue growth among all retailers in Russia: according to Infoline, its turnover increased by 141%, to 16.9 billion rubles. The CEO of Verny, OLEG VYSOTSKY, told Kommersant how the crisis helped the development of the network, how to stimulate trade and employees, and also about who steals more often in stores - customers or staff.

- What is your company now?

We are ahead of the curve internal plan by discoveries. You need to understand that we opened the first store at the end of October 2012. At the end of last year, we had 397 stores, and today we have more than 430.

- Of these, 195 were opened in 2014.

Yes, but this year we will not increase the pace of development, we will remain plus or minus at the level of last year. We have dispersed in numbers, in territories. And when you run fast on a small base, you reduce control over what is happening in the rear, efficiency. But we have finally reached the positive zone in terms of profit.

Profit appeared at the end of the first quarter? Maybe reveal your financial and operational performance.

We are a closed company. Probably, the time will come, we will become open and we will give numbers. Publicity will depend on the situation on the financial markets and the vision of the main shareholder. I can say that according to the results of the first quarter, we grew by about 130% compared to the previous first quarter. Our average check a little over 300 rubles. The company has no loans. In the spring months, the company made a net profit.

- The size of which you also do not disclose?

- Does the difficult economic situation affect your development plans in any way?

You know, I think the crisis helped us. I believe that thanks to him we quickly became profitable. Of course, we had to work intensively with cost cuts at all levels. At the same time, buyers began to save. Do you think only buyers of Dixy and Pyaterochka started saving? Clients of more expensive segments also began to save money, many went to discounters.

- At the same time, you do not increase the pace of opening new stores.

Now we are developing at the expense of share capital and profit. To accelerate development, it is necessary to receive additional funds, to take loans. Therefore, this year we are focusing on operating activities, efficiency, without forgetting, of course, to open up. We closed 19 inefficient stores. And that helped too.

- Do you plan to develop at the expense of loans?

It depends on what will be the situation on the credit market in the whole country. I can tell that some guys with money, knowing our team, knowing the prospect Russian market, all the time nearby.

- Are you talking about investors who want to buy some share?

I can't name these companies now, they are rather well-known structures in Russia. But so far we have not come to this. We have no task to open at any cost. Of course, we want to play in the big leagues, to have 15-16% of the market in the future, but this is not such an easy and short path.

- In the future, are you preparing this company for an IPO?

You understand that an IPO cannot be an end in itself. As an option to raise money, why not? IPO as a stage in the development of the company we consider. Our goal is to win back, tear off, bite off, our share in this market. How quickly this will happen - time will tell.

I would like to understand the structure of your owners. It is known that Andrey Rogachev is the main shareholder. But there are also minority shareholders.

I'll start with myself. I am a minority shareholder. My share is small. Besides me, there are several other minority shareholders and one majority shareholder.

- Do you have a connection with other projects of Andrey Rogachev, for example, with the markets in Moscow?

I do not have reliable information that Andrey owns the markets.

- He probably would not deal with his own markets ... Moreover, as he told me, he does not own Verny either.

You need to know Andrew. He is very active, very. And he will never just sit idly by. As far as I know, he directs his activity towards clearing the markets, bringing them to a civilized look, restarting in a sense, making them modern - he likes it. So he once told me, and I told him - in FIG you need it, these markets. He says: listen, I work off my karma - that's his word - by returning farm goods to the shelf.

Now the turnover of many retailers is supported by food inflation. At the same time, your colleagues admit that in physical terms, people began to buy less than 15 percent.

Indeed, there is a natural decline. But we still have it at 6 percent. At the same time, inflation at sales prices was about 12% in the first quarter. In April there was deflation - 0.6%.

- It's probably seasonal.

It has to do with other things. We started to be more aggressive pricing policy in April. We have a very high like-for-like, it fluctuates between 14% and 23%. If I see that one store is working poorly, then in order to promote it, we reduce prices for vegetables and fruits. We dismantle the shelves for vegetables and fruits, make large market stalls. We hang big price tags. And we launch local advertising. I can say that in some of our stores the growth in sales after these actions was very significant.

- And how much did you reduce prices?

From 15 to 20%. But these are pilot projects, we are not deploying such aggressive actions for the entire network, we are working on a targeted basis. Buyers are very responsive to prices. And don't listen to anyone who says people don't remember prices.

- Are you considering any new regions for yourself?

We are supporters of concentrated growth, we do not open up wherever we can, but we go into the region and take root there. We have two small branches, in Tatarstan and Yekaterinburg, and two large ones - the northwestern one, which includes St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region and Veliky Novgorod, and the central one with Moscow, Moscow Region, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kaluga and Tula. We will open in the same territories, because the potential for the number of openings is very high. Later, we will connect to the central branch those regions in which we are not yet present: Ryazan, Tver, etc.

- Is this a plan for 2015-2016?

- In 2012, it was reported that you would have more Frank hypermarkets. I didn't see one.

We have such a brand. We consider it as a possible name for compact hypermarkets, such as, for example, Magnit has. The project itself lies in a safe in the form of a package of documents with diagrams, diagrams, layouts, an economic model, and visualization. But now I don't see the point in it.

- That is, so far you only have discounters?

Not really. We launched one "research institute" - we opened three Fan Price stores with fixed prices. Now all goods are sold for 45 rubles. This year we launched three facilities in Moscow. We want to feel the economy of this segment, to study the behavior of buyers. At some point, the “research institute” will end, and a decision will have to be made on what to do next. I think that we will open a couple more stores so that the experiment is cleaner, and we will see how they work for three or four months. We'll make a decision closer to autumn.

Are you considering any mergers and acquisitions?

So far, we have not had such transactions. We purchased one small network in Vladimir, I don't even remember its name, but it was not a classic M&A - in fact, we bought sites. We are still supporters of organic growth. It's more accurate and cheaper. But we do not close ourselves off this possibility. X5 would have bought (smiled)… The price is very good now. By share price, I mean.

I don’t want to offend you, but when I first saw the sign “Faithful”, I was a little surprised by this name, it seemed strange.

When we opened Pyaterochka, who could understand that this was a grocery store? None. We thought toys for children, notebooks. Now Pyaterochka is an excellent brand that is expensive and has great customer loyalty. "Faithful" evokes good good associations. What is faithful? A devoted faithful friend. The store is fair, honest, reliable… Many of our customers are women, the “faithful husband” association is important for them (Smiles.) Therefore, we believe that this name will develop well in terms of recognition and, ultimately, value.

- Your entity has a no less original name - "Union of St. John the Warrior".

We wanted to do something different. We have an icon of St. John the Warrior hanging in the meeting room. John is a saint who distributed food to the poor, helped, fought against theft, which is very consistent with our approach to business, so we came up with such a name.

- And how did the icon appear?

It was given to us by the priests. We have a lot of original artifacts, talismans in the company. You have a scoreboard at the back and on the other side of the window there are agricultural pitchforks. Do you think they're just standing there?

Do you punish employees?

We push people in the back with pitchforks, really. Do not believe it, this scoreboard and pitchfork are the main engines of our development.

- And what is the role of the scoreboard?

I believe that asking for results and achievements over long periods of time is a gross managerial mistake, because you get an unpredictable result. Therefore, we have introduced the practice of daily monitoring of all indicators. Left column - logistic indicators. The middle block is devoted to trade. On the right is data on store openings. The most important of the arts for us is the art of kicks. And pitchforks help a lot in this case. Well, of course, there is some joke in this, but it is a real attribute that pushes people forward. Moreover, I gave the pitchfork to three of my important managers to push others.

- Each company has its own internal laws. Tell us about yours.

We great attention focus on ideology. We have a whole set of official and unofficial principles and rules. Zero Tolerance for Marriage: "Fix the mistake right away, never accept or pass on a marriage." Another point of our ideology: "Cowards and alarmists are to be shot on the spot."

- Pierce with a pitchfork.

Something like that. “When there is little time, there is no time for friendship - immediately love.” "Difficult people - in a complex company." "Kickback - the end of a career." It was an unofficial ideology. And here are some things from the official: “There are simple solutions for any complex problems”, “we pay only for the result”, “if something does not work, people need to be fired, not recruited.” It would seem a contradiction, but in fact there is a deep meaning in this. One of the principles of the company - we give people the opportunity to earn. Not to receive, but to earn. It lies in our approach to business. And we recruit people accordingly. When I recruit people, I look at knowledge in the second place. First of all - on the attitude to work and potential. And knowledge will come.

- At the same time, you check them on a polygraph when applying for a job.

Certainly. It does not interfere. But this is a voluntary history, of course, only for serious posts. We also check existing employees. The polygraph leads to thoughts, and then people from the security service can connect, external signals appear. There are also open criminal cases against our employees based on our statements. Theft and corruption are problems that need to be fought.

You are talking about theft. If we are not talking about theft within the company, but in stores. At the end of last year, there was a high-profile story with a grandmother in Magnit, recently with a shocker in Pyaterochka.

To avoid illusions, I will say that store employees sometimes do not know what to do when people come and steal. They have no right to search, they cannot do anything. This is the first, and the second - I am deeply convinced that what buyers steal is approximately 20-25% of what they steal own employees shop. I am absolutely sure of it. They steal their own many times more. And is it worth stopping that “grandmother” if there is any suspicion? I tell my people: guys, do not touch the "grandmother". Third. In some areas, five to ten teenagers walk into a store, grab a cognac, something else expensive, and just go out. And what will the cashier girl do to them? When will the police arrive? 30 seconds later no one is there. There are cases where store employees really suffer. In one of our stores in the Leningrad region, an employee was shot at all last year. A man came out and did not pay, the cashier made a fuss, he began to be rude, attacked. Our loader came up, a young guy, stood up for the cashier, shot him ....

You are quite separated from your competitors, do not belong to industry unions, have not joined the code of good practice, why?

We have 350 employees in all offices. There are few of us, we really work a lot and there is no time to hang out. Probably, when we grow up, we will delegate someone. And now we have to almost manual mode to manage a company.

Your colleagues are now very actively struggling with amendments to the industry law regarding relations with suppliers. Have you analyzed how all this will affect you?

I am very anxious about the proposed changes, because their consequences are not calculated. We are currently living in a difficult period. Attempts to regulate can be very negative for retailers, and of course, it will affect the shelves. And I only hope that people at the top understand all this very well and measure all the risks, pluses and minuses.

- As I understand it, you follow the results of your previous project very closely.

We have social competition (smiles).

It is interesting to understand what you think about how Pyaterochka functions, how it positions itself. If you were the leader of this project, would you develop it in the same way or do you have a different vision?

I want to say that I have a very respectful attitude towards the guys and the team from X5 and Pyaterochka in particular. Pyaterochka made me a manager, allowed me to earn money, and in many ways made me who I am. I left there precisely because I saw the development of Pyaterochka differently than the CEO, who at that time headed the company. Moreover, I was going to take a break, as for many years I worked with almost no holidays. And then, after I spent four days in Thailand on the beach, people called and said: listen, have you been resting there for a long time, come on new project do. I know the results of Pyaterochka, they are good. This suggests that the people who run the network are doing their job right.

And now you do not want to rest? What results should Verny achieve so that you can go to Thailand not for four days, but longer?

I wanted to ... But when you think that you will finish the activity and it will become much easier, this can be a very big delusion, because in a month people howl like a wolf without active activity, without daily drive. And even sometimes with nerves, with tension, I like it in the end. Because I'm driving home from work and I understand that something has worked out, something has been done today. I feel in myself both energy and strength, and the desire to bring "Faithful" to a decent level.

But you also have your own ambitions. Not only to be a manager and a minority shareholder, but to complete your own project.

If you were asked what my dream is, I would answer - to own a decent football club that can qualify for entry into the Europa League, but this is just a dream ...

- And your sports bar, as you said?

When I left Pyaterochka, there was an idea to do something fun and non-standard. May I put it simply? beautiful girls, football and beer are liked by men. And I thought that it would be possible to organize a football strip bar. I saw "semi-analogues" in different countries. But it's still fun. If we talk about serious business, this is Verny.

Bad places

"We looked at about 80% stores, but we were not satisfied with their location," one large St. Petersburg chain told DP. Former employee"Verny" said that 37 stores of the network were acquired by X5 Retail Group under "Pyaterochka". However, Oleg Vysotsky, general director of the Verny network, does not confirm this information. "We considered the possibility of selling several objects that are poorly promoted. But, given the good performance in December in our network, this idea was abandoned," said Oleg Vysotsky, emphasizing that neither Magnit nor X5 Retail Group bought from Verny " the shops. However, as DP managed to find out, X5 Retail Group still acquired some of Verny's facilities. So, in particular, in the North-West, Verny assigned the lease rights to X5 for five stores: two in Veliky Novgorod and one each in Mga, St. Petersburg and Vyborg. This was confirmed to "DP" by one of the top managers of X5 in the North-West. In addition, by comparing the addresses of the Verny objects for sale and the addresses "", it was possible to find that the X5 objects were opened on the site of Verny in Yekaterinburg on the street. Novgorodtseva, 13A, and Shchors, 29.

"Faithful" slowed down

According to the Verny website, at the moment the network has 455 stores in Russia. In addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, it is represented in the Sverdlovsk, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kaluga and Tula regions, as well as in Kazan. In mid-2015, Oleg Vysotsky told reporters that in 2016 the network plans to develop in the Volga and Central Black Earth regions. However, apparently, the network has adjusted its plans. In the Northwest, she practically stopped opening new stores. Market participants suggest that now the chain is getting rid of inefficient stores, and then it may completely change the owner. According to Ivan Fedyakov, general director of the Infoline analytical agency, the sale of Verny's facilities does not quite fit in with the ambitious plans that the company announced earlier. According to him, the most rapid development of "Verny" was in 2014, when the network opened about 200 stores, while in 2015 - only 80-83 objects. Also, according to Ivan Fedyakov's observations, the latest Verny facilities differ in quality - there are no electronic price tags, the equipment and layout are worse. It should be noted that the launch of Verny came at a time when X5 Retail Group was losing its positions, but now the modernization program for Pyaterochka has ended and has a positive effect. Apparently, it has become difficult for Verny to compete with the market leaders, who are stepping up during the crisis. Thus, Magnit opened 2,378 stores in 2015, and X5 Retail Group opened more than 1,500 facilities. It is possible that the development of "Verny" was carried out on credit funds, and in order to repay them, Andrei Rogachev decided to get rid of some of the objects. It is also known that the businessman is also selling land plots in St. Petersburg, on which it was previously planned to build warehouses for the Verny network. According to Infoline, in 2014 the network's revenue amounted to 16.9 billion rubles (excluding VAT), and in 2015 it exceeded 20 billion rubles (excluding VAT).