Backup power supply: Auchan plans to launch its own cafes in Russia
The French Auchan chain, which manages hypermarkets of the same name, has applied for registration of the Bon Cafe brand, Izvestia has learned. The retailer's plans include food ordering services, rental of premises, operation of snack bars and cafes. Experts note that this segment has become one of the main drivers of retail growth, despite the general decline in consumer activity. According to them, for the French company it is also a way to use the accumulated high liquidity in our country. Under the conditions of sanctions, the withdrawal of dividends abroad remains difficult, costly and organizationally burdensome, so the company reinvests them in local development. What other foreign retailers are expanding their business in Russia — in the Izvestia article.
Why do retailers open restaurants
Auchan LLC, which manages the hypermarket chain of the same name, applied for registration of the Bon Cafe trademark in May for the 16th, 21st, 30th, 35th and 43rd classes of the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICTS) - online food ordering services from takeaway restaurants. and with delivery, rental of premises, snack bars and cafes. This is stated in an extract from Rospatent, which was reviewed by Izvestia. It is unknown what format of institutions is planned and how much investment can be invested in the project. A representative of the retailer did not respond to the request.
Auchan Russia is a division of Auchan Retail, part of the ELO Group (formerly Auchan Group) of the French Mulier family. The first hypermarket in Russia opened in 2002 in Mytishchi near Moscow. There are 241 stores in 37 regions in the country. Their total retail space is 1.019 million square meters, according to Infoline data. By the end of 2023 (the latest available data), Auchan LLC's revenue under RAS amounted to 226 billion rubles, which is 5% less than a year earlier. Net profit for the same period decreased 10-fold, to 460.2 million. According to Infoline, in 2025, the company's revenue is 269.7 billion rubles, which is 2.9% less than in 2024.
Retailers have been developing in the restaurant segment for a long time, recalls Olga Sumishevskaya, a partner at the One Story consulting company. To do this, they have a well-developed raw material base, a pool of suppliers, and the ability to control the quality of their food. These are the things that ordinary restaurants "never even dreamed of," she stressed.
In 2018, the German Globus chain launched a new hypermarket format with food courts, including restaurants, cafes and pizzerias. Back in 2008, Azbuka Vkusa opened the first coffee area in the store, and in 2018, a full-fledged cafe in a supermarket on Smolenskaya Square, where waiters and a wine list were provided.
X5 launched the first Select cafe in the renovated Perekrestok supermarket in Moscow in the summer of 2024. By May 2026, it had opened more than 400 outlets. Among them, there are several free-standing establishments operating outside the store. In May of this year, such a cafe opened in Gorky Park in the capital. In total, the retailer already has eight such establishments by the beginning of summer, its representative said. Since 2023, Lenta has been developing the direction of Fresh Cafes and dining areas inside hypermarkets. VkusVille also has a restaurant format, which opened the first corner in a Hurry in 2024. And Magnit began testing the ramen format in its own stores — it opened the first such point in the capital in August 2025.
How consumer changes affect retailers
Retailers have been developing the trend towards the restaurant sector for a long time, but Auchan has not yet been represented in this segment, experts interviewed by Izvestia say. Marina Malakhatko, a partner at NF Group, calls catering in hypermarkets a classic scheme of work for any modern player. The French company is trying to jump "into the last carriage of the train" of ready-made food in order to respond to changes in consumer demand, Olga Sumishevskaya added. According to Infoline, in 2025, the ready-to-eat category grew faster than the revenue of the top 10 largest retailers of consumer goods (FMCG): 18.5% versus 16.1%.
Now Auchan has found a new way to diversify its business, the top manager of a large retail chain is sure. According to him, since 2022, the French retailer has lost its market share amid the more dynamic growth of Russian retail chains, primarily Lenta, which is also developing the hypermarket format. According to Infoline calculations, Auchan's share in the total turnover of the food market decreased from 1.3% in 2021 to 0.88% by the end of 2025. Over the same period, Lenta's share increased from 2.4% (excluding Monetika from 0.9%) to 3.56%.
Moreover, Auchan, like other European retailers that have maintained business in Russia, is faced with the accumulation of high liquidity within the country. The withdrawal of dividends abroad remains difficult and costly, Marina Malakhatko noted. In this case, she calls reinvesting funds in local development a "completely rational decision." Globus, for example, took advantage of this opportunity. This summer, he plans to launch a new hypermarket in Tula, and also allowed the construction of new stores in Zelenograd and Nekrasovka with a "change in the political situation." The company owns land there.
Experts believe that the development of the restaurant segment by retailers will continue. For the consumer, this format turned out to be cheaper than going to a restaurant, Olga Sumishevskaya concludes. Moreover, it also helps to save time in conditions of accelerating the pace of life in large cities, she said.
In January–March 2026, sales of ready—made food in physical terms increased by 14.3% year-on-year, and by 21.7% in money, NTech analysts estimated. By the end of this year, the market for such products in Russia may grow by almost 18%, to 1.32 trillion rubles, including VAT, Infoline predicts. They specify that the share of such products in the total volume of retail sales of food products may increase from 3.8% to 4.1%.
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