St. Petersburg, Russia; 7 December, 2016 – Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA) one of the largest retail chains in Russia, is pleased to announce the opening of 11 new stores acquired during the purchase of the Kesko food retail business in Russia (“KFR”), previously operating under the K-Ruoka brand.

10 hypermarkets and one supermarket are opening today in Saint-Petersburg and the Leningrad region, now operating under the Lenta brand.

The total selling space of new Lenta stores is 40,023¹sq.m, of which 39,657 sq.m is owned and 2,366 sq.m is rented. In terms of size and layout, the stores are compatible with existing Lenta compact and supercompact hypermarket formats, and all of the store locations are strategically complementary to Lenta’s existing stores in Saint-Petersburg and the Leningrad region. All stores are opened 24 hours, 7 days a week.

The specific store characteristics are listed in the table below:

These new openings bring the total number of Lenta stores to 180 hypermarkets in 77 cities across Russia and 44 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

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 180 hypermarkets in 77 cities across Russia and 44 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a total of approximately 1,089,165 sq.m of selling space. The average Lenta hypermarket store has selling space of approximately 5,800 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 2016².

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
Òel:+7 (812) 336 39 97 
E-mail: a.kuznetsova@lenta.com

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

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

¹ The total selling space of the stores acquired from Kesko is presented after adjustments made by Lenta during integration process.
² FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H 2016 was 33,758 employees.