The structure of the retailer “O’Key” JSC “Dorinda” sold part of the property

The declining popularity of large-format grocery chain stores is forcing them to abandon the construction of such facilities. The O’Key Group sold part of its plots, previously purchased specifically for hypermarkets, and one unfinished building in different regions of Russia. Experts believe that in the current conditions it is much more profitable to build warehouse real estate on these sites, which is in high demand due to the lack of sufficient free supply.

Structure of the O’Key network Dorinda JSC sold part of its property. The company’s reporting for 2023 indicates that plots were sold on the Minskoye Highway in Odintsovo, Moscow Region, in the village of Vinsady in the Predgorny District of the Stavropol Territory and an unfinished hypermarket building in the Kirovsky District of Ufa. Among the assets that were planned to be sold, a hypermarket of 14 thousand square meters still remains on the company’s balance sheet. m on Raahe street in Cherepovets, Vologda region. O’Key did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

Extracts from the Unified State Register of Real Estate for sold objects indicate that sites of 3.9 hectares in the Moscow region and 5 hectares in Vinsady were transferred to individuals (information about private owners is not published), and an unfinished construction project of 18 thousand square meters. m in Ufa – local LLC “Concrete Plant No. 1”. They did not respond to Kommersant’s request.

According to estimates by the general director of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, in total the retailer could earn more than 400 million rubles for its assets. The sale of non-core assets by retailers and subsequent reinvestment of the proceeds into core business allows for higher returns on investments, notes NF Group partner Stanislav Bibik.

The O’Key company initially focused on the hypermarket format. So, in 2014, this store format prevailed: then there were 69 hypermarkets and 39 supermarkets. Obviously, the company also intended to use the sold sites for the construction of its own stores of this format. Now opening hypermarkets has lost its meaning, so “it’s better to sell the plots now, while there is demand,” says Mikhail Burmistrov. According to him, due to the reduction in the activity of retailers in opening large-format stores, the share of hypermarkets and supermarkets in the structure of retail space occupied by grocery chains decreased by 1.2 percentage points, to 14.3%.

The cost of construction has increased significantly since 2020, which is why the sale of hypermarkets may be impractical, says Irina Bolotova, a partner in the service for organizing retail space “Pro.Story”. Over the past two to three years, spending on the construction of commercial real estate in Moscow has increased by 35–40%, the ERZ.RF portal previously reported. At the same time, reformat the objects as discounters “Yes!” not very profitable: they require a much smaller amount of space, which is easier to rent, Ms. Bolotova believes.

New owners of plots may consider building small shopping centers on them, which will house several retail operators and various social organizations, for example, a multifunctional center, continues Irina Bolotova. Mikhail Burmistrov believes that the new owners can use the sites not only for retail, but also for other purposes, for example, warehouses.

Commercial Director of the Dmitrov Logistics Park Alexander Perfilyev agrees that the construction of warehouses in these areas may be promising. In addition, there is now an acute shortage of free space on the warehouse market. According to NF Group estimates, the vacancy rate in logoparks in Moscow and the Moscow region is no more than 0.1%.

Daria Andrianova