Retailer OBI could refuse 20,000 sq. m in the logistics complex “Sever”, located in the Solnechnogorsk district in the north of the Moscow region. This was told by three consultants who worked with this object.
The fact that OBI is the tenant of this warehouse follows from the data of SPARK-Interfax. Initially, the company occupied about 40,000 sq. m, but in the end she decided to reduce the volume by 2 times, according to the interlocutors of Vedomosti. They also add that the company has no other objects, both leased and owned, in the Moscow region. An OBI spokesman declined to comment. A representative of Raven Russia (the owner of Sever) did the same, citing the confidentiality of such information.
Rejection of warehouse space by OBI, interviewed by Vedomosti, is associated with a decrease in the retailer’s turnover against the backdrop of a corporate conflict in the company. After the start of the CBO, the retailer, which at that time belonged to the German OBI GmbH, announced the termination of its activities in Russia, but the local management refused to close the stores. At the end of July 2022, the group of investment and construction companies MAX became the new owner of the network, in which 60% belonged to businessman Jozef Liokumovich, and 40% to Ilya Kolobkov. In October last year, OBI changed hands again. 90% of the shares in five legal entities of the network were transferred to Boksitogorsky Timber Processing Plant LLC. In whose interests this company acted, it is not known. But a person close to the deal then told Vedomosti that Liokumovich allegedly did not agree to the sale of the business. In December, the retailer acquired new owners, whom market participants associate with the Sindika group of the ex-president of Kabardino-Balkaria and senator Arsen Kanokov.
Against the background of such a situation, the reduction of space is a logical step, says Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline Analytics. According to him, the company’s business fell by 40% for objective reasons, which is a consequence of a decrease in turnover and changes in the assortment, so it does not need additional premises. According to SPARK-Interfax, in 2021 the total revenue of OBI structures amounted to 54.9 billion rubles, at the end of last year it decreased to 30.3 billion rubles. The reduction in logistics premises could also be due to increased competition in the market, as well as a decrease in consumer activity, Igor Krotenkov, director of warehouse and production premises at IBC Real Estate, believes. Burmistrov also adds that the retailer can use space in the hypermarkets themselves to store goods.
A new tenant has already been found for the vacated space in the Sever logopark, consultants say. According to them, about 24,600 sq. m in this facility (including the former OBI premises) was rented by the logistics operator PEK. Information about this transaction was confirmed by Igor Evseev, director of PEK, director of Ricci | Warehouses (advised the deal) Dmitry Gerastovsky and a representative of Raven Russia. The rental rate here is at least 6000-6200 rubles. for 1 sq. m per year, excluding operating expenses and VAT, says Anton Alyabyev, Senior Director of Warehouse and Industrial Real Estate at CORE.XP. Krotenkov says about 6000-6500 rubles. for 1 sq. m per year. Thus, the facility will cost the company 147.6-159.9 million rubles annually.
OBI is not the first company to be forced to give up warehouse space. Ozon occupied 100,000 sq. m in the Obukhovo logopark, which was originally built for the AliExpress marketplace. The latter also stopped renting premises in the PLT Chekhov logistics complex, they were also rented by Ozon.
M.Video-Eldorado last year planned to release about 100,000 sq. m. m of premises in logistics facilities that are leased or used under safekeeping agreements in different regions of the country: Moscow, Moscow region, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk.
