BERLIN, April 13 (Xinuha) -- German consumer electronics chains Media-Saturn is deliberating a sale of its Russian business, its parent company Ceconomy AG confirmed on Friday.
According to Duesseldorf-based Ceconomy, Media-Saturn is in the process of negotiating the sale of its Russian network of stores to local rival M.Video. The retail group noted, however, that no decision had been made yet.
Falling revenue in Russia had been a cause of concern for Media-Saturn. In 2017, the electronics retailer operated around 60 stores with 2,500 employees in Russia and recorded revenue of around 500 million euros compared to more than 10 billion euros (12.3 billion U.S. dollars) at its home market of Germany.
The management of Ceconomy highlighted falling wages in Russia, tougher local competition and a depreciation in the value of the rouble as key factors which have engendered a growing desire to exit the market. Additionally, local rivals M.Video and Eldorado recently announced a merger, creating a new market giant in Russia with more than 800 stores.
Media-Saturn is the single most important asset held by Ceconomy. The holding was created in 2017 when the former Metro AG conglomerate was split into two independent electronics retail and food retail divisions. Ceconomy CEO Pieter Haas told press that he increasingly intends to focus the activities of Media-Saturn on markets where it occupies a leading position. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars)