No-frills food retailer Atak, a subsidiary of supermarket giant Auchan, may soon see its rapid expansion in the Moscow region blocked by the regional branch of Russia's Anti-Monopoly Service.
The agency intends to take Atak to court over two recent agreements to purchase and rent real estate in the Moscow region that it claims violate antitrust legislation, ITAR-Tass reported late last week.
An agency spokesman told ITAR-Tass that retailers whose share in food sales exceeds 25 percent within a certain municipality are not allowed to buy or rent additional retail real estate in that region.
Atak and parent company Auchan are two of the largest food retailers in Russia and are still expanding rapidly. Atak plans to expand its network to 200 supermarkets across Russia by the end of next year, according to its website.
Worldwide, the Auchan group boasted more than 1,500 stores by the end of last year and a total trade turnover of 48.1 billion euros ($63.5 billion) in 2013.
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