X5 Retail Group, Russia’s largest retailer in terms of turnover, reported a massive 53% rise in sales in 2008. X5′s incredible sales growth, came on the back another incredible achievement – the company opened 233 new stores in the year, including the 24 Karusel hypermarkets which it acquired in June 2008. Growth through organic store openings and acquisitions, combined with a solid like-for-like performance (+22%), ensured that X5 remained ahead of the pack in 2008.

This put the group, which operates over 1,000 stores under several formats including hypermarkets, supermarkets and discounters, in a strong position to confront a difficult market in the year ahead.

Magnit, which operates over 2,000 convenience stores and 14 hypermarkets in the Russian Federation, revealed a 44.0% rise in sales in December and a like-for-like increase for the year of 18.8%. Seventh Continent, the largest grocery chain in Moscow, reported a 22.5% rise in sales in 2008.

The company increased its selling space by 17% in 2008, opening 14 new stores, including three hypermarkets. The retailer now operates a network of 140 stores in Russia, including 131 supermarkets and nine hypermarkets.