The article focuses on the ways effective intangible assets management helps the leading Russian food retailers derive ancillary competitive advantages. Analysis and assessment of intangible assets effectiveness (which is considered to be a source of retailer competitive advantages) include analysis of intangible assets as a part of company assets, analysis of intangible assets effectiveness using conventional indicators, valuation of intangible assets and business, analysis of private labels, and analysis of intangible assets franchising. As a result we have formulated characteristic features of formation of Russian retailers competitive advantages when using intangible assets in the process of operating activities (including the management of private labels), in franchising, as well as in the intangible assets accounting policy and management of the market value of the business. The findings of this research can be employed by retailers in actual practice of intangible assets management to achieve and maintain a high level of competitiveness.

Taking into account the importance of trade in general, determined by its functions, and the important role of trade in the Russian economy, the urgent task is to ensure the sustainable development of trade in Russia, given the peculiarities and needs of each region. As such, the study is devoted to the analysis of regional differences in the condition and development of trade in Russia. The goal of the study is to group Russian regions based on the results of estimating the condition and development of trade, and to identify the regions that need state support for trade most, as well as those that can serve as examples of the best practices in the trade industry development. The method of the study is based on a combination of indicators of condition and changes in trade, which are found taking into account nine statistical indicators that comprehensively describe different aspects of the trade industry. The outcomes confirm the existence of regional differences in the Russia trade and indicate that most of the Russian regions are described by a low level of trade development against its growth, while only a few regions demonstrate intensive development of trade, which continues to grow. State support for trade is fundamental for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Republic of Dagestan, the Chukotka Autonomous Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, and the Republic of Ingushetia. The highest level of trade development and growth is characteristic of Moscow, the Moscow region, and the Novosibirsk region. The latter is recognized as the region with the best practices of trade development, which other regions can adopt. The results can be used by the statistics bodies and state authorities to monitor the condition and development of trade in Russian regions and will contribute to better accuracy and feasibility of managerial decisions in trade.

This article aims to develop a method for identifying generational cohorts based on the quantitative indicators underlying the change in generational phases according to Strauss and Howe. The scientifically substantiated differentiation between generational cohorts makes it possible to subsequently reveal the similar characteristics of people within these generational groups. The main result is a method for determining groups of generations, which includes five main stages: determining indicators-identifiers of generations, creating the initial database of indicators, compiling evaluation tables, dividing generations into groups by each indicator, comparing the obtained groups, and distributing the population by groups by indicators-identifiers of generations. The indicators-identifiers of generations used by the authors include natural population growth and gross domestic product. These indicators show the growth of the country’s most important resources, that is, human and economic resources, and make it possible to determine the moment of appearance of a new generation. The method for identifying the time ranges of generations and the results of applying this method (in modern Russia) make it possible to use the obtained information to solve various economic and social problems: study the features of representatives of certain generations, forecast the signs and time of the emergence of new generations in society, and so on. The proposed method can be used in scientific research and in practice, first, to evaluate the existing generations in a certain country, to substantiate measures promoting the transition of a society to the following development stages of generations, and for marketing purposes.

An important condition for a sustainable and balanced development of the Russian economy is to increase the environmental performance of commercial companies, including trade ones. The purpose of the study is to assess the environmental performance of retail trade companies operating in the Russian Federation. The index, calculated based on the data included in their annual reports, taking into account thirteen parameters characterizing various environmental aspects of trading activity, is used to assess the environmental performance of retail trade companies. The results obtained have made it possible to draw the following conclusions: first, in recent years, the environmental performance of Russian retail trade companies has shown the upward trend; secondly, the environmental performance of foreign retail trade companies operating in the Russian Federation is higher than the environmental performance of Russian companies. Despite the positive dynamics, the problem of increasing the environmental performance of retail trade companies remains of significant importance both for individual economic entities and for the entire state. A further increase in the environmental performance of retail trade companies will improve their competitiveness and the resulting social and economic performance, and will also contribute to the formation of a balanced, environmentally oriented model for the development of the Russian economy.

The article provides an up-to-date description of practices in the field of corporate social responsibility disclosures among European retailers. Reports registered by the Global Reporting Initiative's Sustainability Disclosure Database and corresponding to the following parameters have been used for the study: sectorretailers; region -Europe; report type -GRI G1, GRI G2, GRI G3, GRI G3.1, GRI G4, GRI Standards. The author has calculated general and specific Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Indexes, and has analyzed individual elements of general, economic, environmental and social disclosures. The results confirm the spread of corporate social responsibility disclosures; a linear increase in the number of sustainability reports by European retailers is observed. The typical environmental disclosures for retailers are related to energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and waste. Among the social disclosures, the most popular are the "New employee hires and employee turnover", as well as those associated with hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation in the context of occupational health and safety, and the impact of goods and services on the health and safety of consumers. Disclosures related to water consumption, protected areas and IUCN Red List species, certain aspects of occupational health and safety (such as worker training, promotion of worker health, work-related injuries and ill health, etc.) and indigenous peoples' rights were less common among the European retailers. The results may be useful for retailers who are beginning to create sustainability reports, including in terms of examples of best practices and industry-specific features of retail corporate social responsibility.