The government commission for the control of foreign investment in Russia has approved an application for a deal to sell several stores to a French company, Izvestia was told in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The areas are located in different regions, they are not strategic for the company, the department noted.
Izvestia’s source in the market, who is familiar with the details of the deal, explained that it was about the sale of five stores in some regions. Apparently, these points were less profitable compared to the rest. At the same time, the network is increasing its presence in large areas, for example, last year the retailer completed a deal and bought two sites. The government commission also issued permits for these stores, he added.
Decathlon did not respond to Izvestia’s request.
The French company has been developing in Russia since 2006. In March 2022, Decathlon announced that it would suspend deliveries to the country – then, according to data on its website, the retailer’s network in Russia consisted of 50 sites. In an official statement, the company then mentioned that “the conditions for the supply of goods no longer meet the requirements for continuing operations in Russia”, therefore, “it is forced to suspend the work of its stores.” But the stores did not close then, it happened already in the summer of 2022.
In January 2023, it became known that the chain began to look for buyers for its sites, the so-called BlueBox – free-standing hypermarkets with company symbols in blue. By this time, the company’s website indicated that it had only 28 points left. These sites were sold to various buyers, Pavel Lyulin, vice president of the Union of Shopping Centers, told Izvestia.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
French move: Decathlon found a buyer for part of its stores in Russia
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