Russia

Rautatesko is a new operator to the Russian marketplace. The Finnish group of companies has acquired the holdings in the DIY retailer Stroymaster in St Petersburg. The company operates four stores at present, and a fifth is to be opened shortly. In addition, there are plans for bigger outlets modelled on the K-Rauta concept.
Another newcomer to Russia is the French DIY retail group Leroy Merlin, which opened a first DIY store in Moscow in autumn 2004. Further outlets are at the planning stage. Marktkauf also intends to become active again with the opening at the end of 2005 of a second store in Moscow. This will have an overall retail area of 7 000 m² plus outdoor yard. European market leader Kingfisher is planning to enter the Russian market as well, having last year nominated the management team for this expansion project.