St. Petersburg, Russia; 5 December 2016 – Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA), one of the largest retail chains in Russia, is pleased to announce a milestone of reaching 10 million active loyalty card holders¹. In addition to offering a discount on customer purchases, the Company’s loyalty programme provides Lenta with up-to-date information on customer behaviour.

The number of active Lenta loyalty card holders has increased 24% year-on-year². Today 93% of all purchases across the Company’s stores are made using the loyalty card. The Company accumulates transaction data for all purchases made with the loyalty card to conduct thorough analyses helping it assess product mix performance across its stores, get insights into changes in customer behaviour, and reach customers with individually tailored offers such as Thank You Mailing, a personalised direct marketing programme designed to increase customer loyalty.

Lenta was among the first Russian food retailers to launch a loyalty programme over 15 years ago. Lenta started collecting customer transaction data in 2008 and launched its Big Data Customer Insights Initiative in 2012. The use of Big Data has enabled a new approach towards customer behaviour analysis and provided an additional competitive advantage. By catering to ten key customer lifestyle profiles Lenta is able to generate more relevant offers to improve the customer experience, generating both sales and loyalty. All this helps the Company maintain its position as one of the most rapidly growing food retailers in the Russian market.
Herman Tinga, Lenta Commercial Director commented:
“The steady growth in the number of active Lenta loyalty card holders is something we are proud of. This success demonstrates the positive customer experience of using the loyalty card and the strength of our pricing proposition: our loyalty card guarantees a discount of 5% on all purchases for every customer as well as access to special promotions and additional discounts on socially significant goods. For us, the loyalty card is the key to a treasure trove of data which enables us to track the competitive dynamics of our product offer and directly engage with our customers”.

About Lenta

Lenta is the largest hypermarket chain in Russia (in terms of selling space) and the country’s fifth largest retail chain (in terms of 2015 sales). The Company was founded in 1993 in St. Petersburg. Lenta operates 170 hypermarkets in 77 cities across Russia and 43 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a total of approximately 1,047,142 sq.m of selling space. The average Lenta hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 5,900 sq.m. The average Lenta supermarket store has selling space of approximately 1,000 sq.m. The Company operates seven owned distribution centres.

The Company’s price-led hypermarket formats are differentiated in terms of their promotion and pricing strategies as well as their local product assortment. The Company employed approximately 34,134 people as of 30 June 2016³.

The Company’s management team combines a mix of local knowledge and international expertise coupled with extensive operational experience in Russia. Lenta’s largest shareholders include TPG Capital and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, both of which are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance. Lenta is listed on the London Stock Exchange and on the Moscow Exchange and trades under the ticker: ‘LNTA’.

A brief video summary on Lenta’s business and its Big Data initiative can be seen here.

For further information please visit www.lentainvestor.com, or contact:

Lenta
Anna Meleshina, 
Public Relations & Government Affairs Director
Tel: +7 812 363 28 53 
E-mail: anna.meleshina@lenta.com

Anastasia Kuznetsova, 
Corporate Communications Manager
Ňel:+7 (812) 336 39 97 
E-mail: a.kuznetsova@lenta.com

Citigate 
International Media: 
David Westover 
Ňel: +44 207 282 2886
E-mail: lentateam@citigatedr.co.uk

FTI Consulting 
Russian Media:
Anton Karpov & Victoria Afonina
Ňel:+7 495 795 06 23
E-mail: lenta@FTIconsulting.com

¹ Cardholders who made at least two purchases at Lenta during the last 12 months ended 30 October 2016 are considered active.
² As of 30 October 2016 compared to 30 October 2015
³ FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H 2016 was 33,758 employees