The Pyaterochka chain comprises more than 370 outlets, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In May the company finalized a merger deal with another chain, Perekryostok, which controls 147 stores in Russia and Ukraine.
"The new name reflects changes that occurred after the merger between Pyaterochka and Perekryostok in May 2006 in order to establish a clear leader in the retail sector of the Russian food market," the company said in a statement.
The new name, X5, puts together the names of the two store chains - X symbolizes a crossroads (perekryostok in Russian), and 5 represents pyaterochka (meaning number five), the company said.
Pyaterochka, which made an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in May 2005, raising $600 million, announced the deal to buy Perekryostok, which has been valued at $1.37 billion, from Alfa Group and Templeton investment fund on April 12.
As a result of the deal, Alfa Group received 54% of the merged company's shares, and the original founders now own about 21.2% of the stock.
