Thread: Article: Grocers set up shop among the Russian billionaires&

Interesting piece in JRL today; I just thought I'd throw it out for reading/discussion. Are these three men and their companies well-known in Russia: Rogachev/"Pyaterochka," Tariko, and Galitsky/"Magnit?"

#8
The Times (UK)
February 15, 2006
Grocers set up shop among the Russian billionaires
From Jeremy Page in Moscow

THE number of dollar billionaires in Russia leapt to 50 from 39 last year thanks to an oildriven consumer boom, according to a new Russian rich list.

But it is not just the number of billionaires that is causing a stir this year; it is the type of businessmen who are on the list compiled by the business magazine Finans.

As last year, it is topped by Roman Abramovich, the former oil tycoon who owns Chelsea Football Club and governs the remote eastern region of Chukotka. And, as before, most of the mega-rich ­ 39 of the top 50 ­ made their fortunes in oil, gas or metals.

However, the list now includes the first dollar billionaires to have built retail businesses from scratch rather than seizing state assets in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are being hailed as the poster boys of a new generation of business leaders who are rising to prominence as fast as the oligarchs of the 1990s are falling from grace.

Top among them is Andrei Rogachev, 41, the founder of Pyaterochka, one of the largest discount grocery chains in Russia. Set up in 1999, Pyaterochka sold its first shares to public investors in London last year, which boosted Mr Rogachev’s fortune to an estimated $1.2 billion (

Пятёрочка is very well-known at least in Moscow and Saint-Pete though I've never heard the owner's name. I don't know the other names either but this could be just me.

Originally Posted by Friendy

Пятёрочка is very well-known at least in Moscow and Saint-Pete though I've never heard the owner's name. I don't know the other names either but this could be just me.

Same here

I've read that Pytorichka is now the biggest supermarket chain in Russia. We have one in Dmitrov and it is very popular. Great prices and always good quality. I shop there every week. www.e5.ru/

I was in Pyaterochka today and I must say that all groceries, like sugar and salt, have dissapeared. Here in Moscow there's deficit again. Welcome back to the USSR guys! These times have come again!

Originally Posted by mishau_

I was in Pyaterochka today and I must say that all groceries, like sugar and salt, have dissapeared. Here in Moscow there's deficit again. Welcome back to the USSR guys! These times have come again!

самогон?

That's odd; I know there's a supposed shortage of vodka (thus the самогон remark I assume) because they farked up the government certifications, but is there really a widespread problem of keeping general foodstuffs stocked?

No, not samonon. Just a breakout of panic, like it used to be before the demise of the Soviet power took place:

http://lenta.ru/articles/2006/02/17/salt/

Probably all advocates of the Soviet times now are experiencing a great feeling of sweet nostalgia. Their dreams seem to have come true.

Originally Posted by mishau_

No, not samonon. Just a breakout of panic, like it used to be before the demise of the Soviet power took place:

http://lenta.ru/articles/2006/02/17/salt/

Probably all advocates of the Soviet times now are experiencing a great feeling of sweet nostalgia. Their dreams seem to have come true.

I'll be happy to feel a bit of sweet nostalgia, but... I can't. In the little shops near my home everything's OK -- salt, sugar, etc. Don't rely on hypermarkets -- sometimes they suck.

Does "hypermarket" simply = "super store" (ie Walmart/Target/Kmart) in the US?

a hypermarket in Russia is different with its hyperprices. Sometimes, like Zadornov, I want to ask "it's prices or telephone numbers?"

Originally Posted by Barmaley

Does "hypermarket" simply = "super store" (ie Walmart/Target/Kmart) in the US?

Basically, it means "very huge supermarket". (I haven't much idea about Walmart or KMart).

Yes, hypermarkets are just like the giant Walmarts, the ones with a supermarket on one side and a department store on the other. Same range of prices as Walmart too. In Moscow they are so crowded on the weekends that it is misery to go there.