St. Petersburg, Russia; 23 November 2016 – Lenta, (LSE, MOEX: LNTA), one of the largest retail chains in Russia, has been recognised as No. 1 partner for suppliers in a survey by Advantage. 

The survey covered 164 suppliers in the Russian market, which ranked nine leading food retail chains across five performance areas. Advantage conducted some 200 phone interviews and received 1,345 completed questionnaires. The survey interviewed both top managers and account directors, managers, and trade marketing and logistics professionals at supplier companies.

The survey findings suggest that Lenta was rated the top partner by suppliers among Russia’s largest food retailers: the Company came first in the Business Relationship and Category/Business Development categories; was ranked second in the Personnel/Organisation and Retail Execution categories, and took the third place in the Supply Chain Management category. The Company scored an average of 46 points across all categories, 7 and 11 points higher than the next best performers. The average score in the survey was 20.

As compared to the 2015 rankings, Lenta has improved its scores across all performance areas, moving up one or two places. The Company came second in the last year’s survey by Advantage.

Herman Tinga, Lenta CCO, said: 
“We strive to be the number one choice not only for customers but also for suppliers. Despite quite high requirements to suppliers, they value us as a reliable partner that offers mutual growth opportunities. It is very rewarding to see such positive feedback, which provides incentives to further build win-win relationships. Our results in the Advantage survey are no reason for us to rest on our laurels. We know what our weak points are and we will work to fix them and strengthen our relationships with suppliers”

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 162 hypermarkets in 75 cities across Russia and 43 supermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a total of approximately 1,002,732 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 2016¹.

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 FTE (full-time equivalent). Average FTE for 1H 2016 was 33,758 employees