Moscow, 16 March 2026 – OKOLO, part of Russia’s leading food retailer X5, has claimed the top spot among chains developing direct franchising. Retail revenue from OKOLO franchise stores surged 7.8‑fold in 2025 and amounted to RUB 66 billion, according to estimates by INFOLine. The number of stores in the chain quadrupled over the year, with 5,373 stores now operating under the OKOLO brand.
“OKOLO is a franchise for those who value freedom. We began to actively develop this project in 2024, and since then we have come a long way with our partners – one that has now placed us at the top of the franchise chain ranking. Our retail format offers transparent and favourable terms, as well as stability and predictability for our partners. We regularly launch new tools that support our franchisees, and today the OKOLO.Market platform offers a single dashboard for managing all operational processes, from tracking orders and receivables to the loyalty programme. The recent opening of the 1,000th СOOP OKOLO store in Tatarstan marked the completion of the first phase of our strategic plan to modernise the rural cooperation trade network – a milestone we reached ahead of schedule. We plan to continue to expand the format and offer our partners ongoing comprehensive support,” said Igor Pletnev, Managing Director of OKOLO.
The OKOLO franchise targets experienced entrepreneurs who already operate retail businesses. Currently, OKOLO-branded stores are present in 51 Russian regions: Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kurgan, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl regions; the cities of Moscow and St Petersburg; Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorye, and Trans-Baikal territories; and the republics of Adygeya, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Chuvashia, Karelia, Mari El, Mordovia, Tatarstan and Udmurtia.