Lenta Interim General Director leaves Spar

Lenta’s Interim General Director Sergei Yuschenko has left his post at Spar Retail in Russia in order to concentrate fully on Lenta, Planet Retail has learned. "Yuschenko's departure from Spar means that he will work now only at Lenta to help regain the growth levels for the hypermarket chain lost in 2008-2010, by focusing on purchasing land plots, building hypermarkets and setting the company on a course in order for it to open up to double the number of hypermarkets it has in Russia over the next three years," a source close to Lenta told Planet Retail.

Lenta currently operates 37 hypermarkets in Russia. Spar Moscow Holding, a franchise consisting of 33 supermarkets in Moscow and Central Russia, has named Sergei Inozemtsev, a Spar shareholder, as head the company. Spar will also continue to complete a strategic alliance with its other franchise in Russia, Spar-Trading, in order to optimise its buying power.