Korzinka secures $110m investment for retail expansion in Uzbekistan

Food retailer Korzinka has secured a €102m ($110m) equity concern successful the enlargement of its retail operations, furthering the translation of modern market buying successful Uzbekistan.

The superior infusion is supported by co-lead investors Abu Dhabi Uzbek Investment and a consortium of Omani sovereign concern funds headed by the Uzbek-Oman Investment Company.

The backing follows a erstwhile large concern by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) successful 2020.

Zafar Khashimov, laminitis and president of Korzinka, continues to clasp the bulk involvement successful the company.

The caller superior is earmarked for propelling maturation crossed Korzinka's divers retail channels, with an accent connected consolidating its supermarket presence.

The retailer is acceptable to grow its web of Korzinka Mahalla proximity stores and heighten Korzinka Go, its e-commerce platform.

Korzinka is besides channelling funds into infrastructure projects, including a caller 49,000m² people A organisation centre scheduled to go operational successful the 2nd fractional of 2025.

Korzinka CEO Rud Pedersen stated: "This concern volition supercharge our maturation strategy and bring the benefits of adjacent greater standard arsenic we accelerate towards our medium-term extremity of much than 1,000 stores.

“Since EBRD’s concern successful 2020, Korzinka has much than tripled its store footprint and delivered consistent, beardown like-for-like income growth, proving some the increasing request for modern market retail and our quality to standard efficiently. With the backing of our caller investors, we are good positioned to further thrust the maturation of modern market retail crossed Uzbekistan, and we look to increasing successful a akin trajectory implicit the coming years.”

The EBRD has expressed enactment for the engagement of caller investors successful Korzinka’s expansion.

Since acquiring a number stake, the EBRD has been instrumental successful expanding the retailer's store number and solidifying its presumption wrong Uzbekistan.

Korzinka operates much than 150 stores with an omnichannel approach, and employs much than 10,000 individuals.

Korzinka’s forthcoming outlets are projected to chopped c emissions by betwixt 20% and 30% compared with existing stores.

EBRD backstage equity co-head Tamas Nagy, who invested successful Korzinka successful 2020, stated: “We person been arrogant to enactment Korzinka since 2020, erstwhile we recognised the important opportunities for the institution to turn and the interaction its improvement mightiness person connected Uzbekistan. Since then, the institution has made singular advancement connected each fronts, including embedding precocious standards of firm governance and a clime conscious attack to its store designs."