OREANDA-NEWS. On 02 July 2009 X5 Retail Group N.V., Russia's largest retailer in terms of sales (LSE ticker: “FIVE”), reported that Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chose Moscow-based Perekrestok supermarket for his sample store visit aimed at getting deeper understanding of Russian food retail business in conjunction with the ongoing discussions on the draft retail law.

During his televised visit Mr. Putin spoke appreciatively of the store, it's bright and attractive interior, inviting environment and, especially, Perekrestok's assortment. As cited on the Prime Minister's official website (http://premier.gov.ru/events/3184.html), the store offers "an abundant choice of products no different from offerings of similar stores in developed economies".

The Prime Minister paid particular attention to pricing on socially important goods, underscoring the significance of ensuring product affordability for Russian population. X5 is very supportive of this approach and has been aggressively pursuing price leadership in the past years. Its "close-to-the-customer" policy provides the most attractive prices in the market across all three formats, and Perekrestok is widely known for offering the best value for money among supermarkets. For example, 350 socially important items at Perekrestok are currently sold with a mark-up on our purchase price of below 5%, out of which 150 items are sold at the purchase price. Additionally, we are launching a new program to offer special prices on 10 items in fresh meat category.

Perekrestok is also very popular for its customer loyalty program and promotional campaigns that give customers additional savings. For example, starting 1 July 2009 Perekrestok will launch its annual summer sale with discounts of up to as much as 80% on approximately 3,000 items.