DUSHANBE, September 18, Asia-Plus — The French international retail group and multinational corporation, Groupe Auchan SA, has begun supplying food products and other goods from Russian to Tajikistan.
More than 80 percent of these goods were produced in Russia, Auchan press center told Russian media outlets on September 17.
The pilot consignment of goods reportedly includes consumer goods and drinks and the next delivery of goods is scheduled for November 2015.
Auchan Russia, which is subsidiary of Groupe Auchan SA and one of the largest retailers in the Russia Federation, has signed an agreement with Schiever Group, the French company which partners with Auchan Group in France and Poland, on opening its stores in Tajikistan.
The first Auchan City store with sales floor space of nearly 5,000 square meters is expected to open in Dushanbe in spring 2016.
We will recall that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) became a shareholder in Schiever Tajikistan, the holder of the franchise for Auchan hypermarkets in the country. The EBRD and Schiever extended their partnership on June 30 this year by signing a shareholder agreement making the EBRD a minority shareholder in Schiever Tajikistan.
The new 5,000 m² hypermarket will not only bring competition and lower prices, but also new standards in food quality, hygiene and logistics. The EBRD and Schiever are also working on a program to develop the Tajik food value chain in partnership with local suppliers.
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world”s principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries. Auchan has branches in France, and internationally in Italy, India, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Russia, China, Taiwan, Romania and Ukraine. Auchan has operated in Russia since 2002.
