‘The introduction of Auchan hypermarket will definitely result in some customer outflow for us, especially at the very beginning. However, we do not expect it to be massive,’ General Director of Uniland-Yekaterinburg CJSC Valery Bubnov said to UrBC representative.

‘This French company has been threatening us with the possible dumping of prices, but in my opinion, this is not going to happen as they can possibly display no more than 50 items at promotional prices,’ indicated Mr Bubnov.

According to Mr Bubnov, customers of such hypermarkets as Metro and Auchan are mainly private retail buyers.

‘Some victualers use Metro to buy foods, but they are few. I believe the new hypermarket will attract mainly people from satellite towns, while its Yekaterinburg customers are going to be few and far between,’ Mr Bubnov indicated.