The famous supermarket chain is having its purchase system restructured, focusing on Russian goods in the country’s provinces, Auchan Russia’s Management Director announced at the State Duma Committee for Economic Policies and Entrepreneurship meeting recently.

‘80% of goods displayed on our shelves is actually produced in Russia. We are willing and ready to build up on our cooperation with the local manufacturers, because our customers’ choices are very important to us. The customers prefer locally made goods, and we are happy to give them a chance to buy those at Auchan. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to meet their demands in terms of Russian meat, fruit, and vegetables,’ he said.

Auchan reports the new purchase system was launched in Novosibirsk on May 20, 2009; the hypermarkets in Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don are to follow suit early in June 2009, and Nizhniy Novgorod is to join the system at the end of the year. Whether Yekaterinburg’s stores are going to switch to the new system remains unclear. In the meantime, Auchan runs two stores in Yekaterinburg, located at Mega and Carnival shopping malls.