Russia: 143 C-stores Opened by Magnit

This week Magnit has announced  unaudited  trading update up to July 2008. During the first seven months of 2008,  the Company has  opened 143 convenience stores and 7 hypermarkets  with its total store base reaching 2,347 stores at the end of this
period.

Preliminary consolidated unaudited net retail revenue for the same period increased by 39.62% in ruble terms compared to the same period of 2007 and stood at Rubles 70 million. Net retail sales in dollars increased by 52.19% year on year and stood at US$ 2,934.37 million.

Based in Krasnodar, in the Southern region of Russia, Open Joint Stock Company “Magnit” is a holding company for a group of entities that operate in the retail trade under the “Magnit” name. The chain of “Magnit” stores is one of the leading operators in the Russian food retail market. As of December 31, 2007 the chain consisted of 2,194 convenience stores and 3 hypermarkets in more than 700 locations in the Russian Federation.

Approximately two-thirds of the Company’s stores are located in cities with a population of less than 500 thousand. Most of its stores are located within the Southern, Central and Volga regions. The Company also operates stores in the North-Western and Urals regions.
As of December 31, 2007 the Company operated an in-house logistics system consisting of 8 distribution centers, employing automated stock replenishment systems and a fleet of 802 vehicles.

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