Russian Retailers Limit Margins On ‘Socially-Important Products'

Russian retailers including Magnit, O’Key and Auchan Russia have said that they are voluntarily limiting margins on ‘socially-important’ products, such as bakery, dairy, sugar and some vegetables, at 5%.

Domestic news agency RIA Novosti said that the measure is being implemented to ensure that essential products are still affordable for everyday consumers amid rampant inflation and a declining rouble – factors that are likely to be exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.

Magnit is limiting margins on 304 commodity items across 27 categories, it said, including beets, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, onions, milk, cottage cheese, kefir, butter, sugar and bread.

Elsewhere, X5 Retail Group last month announced it was limiting margins on 20 essential product categories, as well as compiling a list of specific SKUs on which margins would be adjusted on a monthly basis.

ESM