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- It was reduced to a calculation: the largest grocery retailers began to save on development
It was reduced to a calculation: the largest grocery retailers began to save on development
Federal grocery chains have begun to reduce investments in opening new stores and developing infrastructure after several years of growth, Izvestia has learned. In the first half of the year, Pyaterochka's capital expenditures decreased by 19%, Perekrestok by 36%, Chizhik by 20%, and Magnit by 46.4%. At the same time, the pace of opening new stores slowed down: at Magnit — by 77%, at X5 — by 35.5%. These companies account for almost 30% of the consumer goods market, Infoline estimates. The largest players in the industry are less likely to invest in new projects and review development strategies amid slowing consumer demand and high cost of debt financing, experts say. Izvestia investigated whether this trend would lead to a reduction in the number of new stores in the future.
How have the investments of federal networks changed?
According to the results of the first six months, Pyaterochka's capital expenditures (CAPEX) amounted to 49.1 billion rubles, which is 18.7% less than in the same period of 2025. At Perekrestok, the figure decreased by 36.3%, to 6.1 billion rubles, at the discounter Chizhik — by 20.4%, to 6.6 billion rubles, according to X5's financial statements according to international standards (IFRS).
At the same time, X5 Group reduced its capital expenditures by 6% over the same period, to 93.4 billion rubles, by redistributing investments between areas. In other segments, expenses increased almost 1.5 times, to 31.2 billion rubles. Magnit's dynamics turned out to be more pronounced: its capital expenditures, excluding M&A, decreased by 46.4% in the first half of the year, to 36.6 billion rubles.
At the same time, the pace of expansion of physical retail has slowed down. In six months, X5 opened 814 stores, including closures, which is 35.5% less than in the same period a year earlier. The increase in retail space decreased by 41%, to 245.1 thousand square meters. m.
Pyaterochka's net increase in the number of stores decreased 1.5 times year-on-year, to 471 outlets. Taking into account the openings and closures, the number of supermarkets at Perekrestok has not changed in the first half of the year. At Chizhik, the figure increased slightly to 343 stores against 330 in 2025. In X5's reporting, the decrease in cash outflow is attributed, among other things, to "lower investment in distribution centers and fewer store openings."
During the same period, Magnit launched 485 stores, which is 65% less than a year earlier. Taking into account the closures, the net increase was 212 points, which is 77% lower than in the same period last year. The retailer explained this in the reports by "raising the profitability thresholds for new projects."
X5 and Magnit are the largest grocery chains in Russia. According to the results of the first six months of 2026, their combined share in the consumer goods market (FMCG) reached 29.9%, Infoline estimated. X5's share in annual terms increased by 0.6 percentage points, to 17.5%, and Magnit's share increased by 0.5 percentage points, to 12.4%.
X5 relies on operational efficiency and a "rational approach" to investments, and not just on network expansion, its representative said. Magnit did not respond to a request from Izvestia.
Why retailers began to reduce financial investments
The reduction in capex was the first since 2022, said Vyacheslav Berdnikov, head of the Public Equity Analysis Department at Sovcombank. In the first half of that year, Magnit's investments decreased by 8.3%, and X5's by 12.6%, according to the companies' reports. At that time, the decrease in CAPEX was primarily due to a sharp increase in uncertainty. In subsequent years, on the contrary, investments grew, the analyst explained. For X5, the indicator increased by 12% in 2024 and by 29% in 2025, for Magnit - by 2.2 times and by 16.6%, respectively. At the same time, X5's share of capex in revenue in the second quarter of 2026 was 2.9%, with a target level for the year of 4.5–4.7%, said Anna Kotelnikova, analyst at Finam.
The main factor in changing investment policy is the cost of capital, experts say. The key rate is now 14%, and the cost of debt financing for large chains is about 15-17%, Vyacheslav Berdnikov estimates. With such a cost of money, companies have to increase the profitability requirements for new stores, distribution centers and other projects, agrees Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of VMT Consult. As a result, the payback period of the store in the current conditions is increasing from four to seven years, and for more complex projects — from seven to 12 years, Vyacheslav Berdnikov added.
Among large public retailers, Lenta maintained positive dynamics: its capex increased by 15% year-on-year, to 22.2 billion rubles, according to the reports. The company is currently at a different stage of the investment cycle than its competitors, explains Vyacheslav Berdnikov. After the purchase of Monetka and the restructuring of the business, she continues to expand her network of convenience stores, while X5 and Magnit already have a significantly higher presence density. According to Infoline, Lenta's share in the FMCG market was 4.1% in the first half of the year. Further expansion will depend on whether the company will be able to get the expected effect from the completed transactions, the analyst believes.
The slowdown in consumer demand reduces the return on new stores, Ekaterina Kosareva noted. In January–June, attendance at grocery stores decreased by 5% year-on-year, according to Focus Technologies. At the same time, the segment's turnover grew by 4-6%, which is below the inflation rate, said Zulfiya Shilyaeva, Senior Director and head of CMWP's retail real estate department. Magnit's comparable sales increased by 6.4% over the same period, but comparable traffic remained unchanged. X5's sales increased by 5.1% while traffic decreased by 0.2%, according to company reports.
In such circumstances, retailers are more interested in developing their existing network than actively opening new stores, says Olga Sumishevskaya, a partner at One Story. According to her, the reduction in demand forces companies to "very closely" monitor the effectiveness of each outlet and its profitability. However, she doubts that the current situation will lead to a significant reduction in the number of new discoveries: the network parameters are reviewed regularly. X5 maintains plans to open 2,000 stores by the end of 2026, a company representative said.
In January – June, retail trade turnover reached 32.3 trillion rubles, an increase of 5.4% year-on-year, according to Rosstat data. According to the forecast of Alfa-Bank analysts, by the end of the year the figure will amount to 66.7 trillion. At the same time, the reduction in retailers' capex by the end of the year is likely to be less pronounced due to the traditional shift of openings to the end of the year, Vyacheslav Berdnikov believes. In his opinion, a return to large-scale expansion is possible with a reduction in the key rate to about 10-11% and a steady recovery in traffic. The expert expects a return to the pace of 2024 no earlier than 2028.
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