Igor Kozhin became the sole owner of the chain of stores at Stopexpress gas stations

Igor Kozhin, the son of the former manager of the affairs of the President of Russia, and now a senator of the Federation Council, Vladimir Kozhin, became the sole owner of Stopexpress, a company that manages more than 120 stores at Gazprom Neft gas stations. Fuel companies are interested in cooperation with retail operators, as this allows them to increase the average bill and compensate for the decrease in profits from their core business, experts say.

Kommersant learned from the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities that the son of the senator of the Federation Council and former manager of the affairs of the President of Russia Vladimir Kozhin, Igor, became the sole owner of the Stopexpress network in October 2023. Before this transaction, he owned 70% of the company. Previously, 30% of the retailer belonged to the ex-head of Lenta Vladimir Senkin, Konstantin Lebedev and their partners. Igor Kozhin did not answer questions sent to Kommersant via Stopexpress. Vladimir Senkin and Konstantin Lebedev also did not provide comments.

Stopexpress manages more than 120 stores at Gazprom Neft gas stations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and other Russian cities. The retail chain sells ready-made food, snacks, baked goods, and goods for motorists. According to SPARK, in 2022, the retailer’s revenue amounted to 3.8 billion rubles, with a net loss of 104 million rubles.

Igor Kozhin acquired 70% of the Stopexpress network last summer (see “Kommersant” dated June 14, 2022). Previously, he had not participated in projects related to retail trade. The entrepreneur is also one of the co-owners of Lanta Talent Solutions, which provides personnel outsourcing services. But Igor Kozhin has experience in the fuel market. In the past, he managed the Gala-Form company, which supplies fuel to gas station networks.

The consolidation of the Stopexpress business by Igor Kozhin was preceded by litigation. In June 2023, Vladimir Senkin in the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region demanded that Stopexpress LLC, the parent structure of Stopexpress, provide data on the company’s activities, including information on financial results for the first quarter of 2023 and cash flows. In turn, Stopexpress tried to recover 29.4 million rubles from Vladimir Senkin and Konstantin Lebedev. and achieved the arrest of their shares, it follows from the case materials. It also states that the conflict was then resolved and the parties abandoned mutual claims.

According to estimates by Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of Infoline-Analytics, the cost of 30% of Stopexpress could be 200–250 million rubles. Based on this, the entire business of the network can be estimated at 660–830 million rubles. The retailer, despite being unprofitable, has a good position in its niche and the potential to scale the business, Mr. Burmistrov believes. Gazpromneft did not answer Kommersant’s questions.

Russians spend about 3.5 thousand rubles on related products at gas stations every month, Platforma calculated. According to the service, their sale provides gas stations with 15% of revenue. For the most efficient gas stations, related trade brings in 30% of their income, Mr. Burmistrov estimates.

The state monitors gasoline prices, and the profits of gas station owners are declining, which encourages them to diversify their sources of income, emphasizes One Story partner Olga Sumishevskaya. According to her, in the non-fuel business, due to the ability to set a higher markup, the margin is higher than that of trading in petroleum products. Other gas station chains have also decided to expand their non-core businesses. Thus, this fall, LUKOIL, together with Azbuka Vkusa, launched a pilot store at gas stations, and the Neftmagistral company announced plans to open a cafe at its gas stations, the Culinary Shop of the Karavaev Brothers.

Gas stations are gradually turning into multifunctional facilities, which allows fuel operators to increase the stay of visitors and the average bill, notes Roman Tinyaev, director of the Mechanical Engineering and Technologies practice at Strategy Partners. But Ms. Sumishevskaya warns that gas stations with low traffic generate losses.

Konstantin Kurkin, St. Petersburg