The stores of the Russian chain MERE in Greece are on a tightrope

The future for the operation of MERE in our country is ominous as the Russian supermarket chain faces a series of challenges, which are added to its already weak, so far, course in the domestic market.

The exclusion of important Russian banks from the SWIFT system announced by the European Union and in general the new package of sanctions to be imposed on Russia, is estimated to cause several difficulties in the activity of the Torgservis group, which develops the network of the hard discount chain Svetofor, which uses the MERE brand for purchases outside Russia and in Greece operates through the subsidiary Torg Hellas.

According to information available to capital.gr, most of the funds required to finance the operation of the stores of the Russian hard discount chain in our country, come from the parent group, which is based in Russia, something that means that it is not excluded that problems may arise in the smooth “blood donation” of the company in the next period.

According to knowledgeable sources, the model of activity chosen by Svetofor, requires absolute control by the parent group, leaving no great room for maneuver and flexibility.

Another factor that is expected to aggravate the situation is the fact that some of the products sold in stores are imported mainly from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries, something that is now in the “air” after from the dramatic developments on the Ukrainian front.

Weak sales and the recent padlock in Langadas

The above factors, according to market cycles, give a chance to give the gratuitous shot to the project of the hard discounter of the Shnayder brothers that started about two years ago in Greece, which not only has gone almost unnoticed by both domestic organized retail and consumers but at the same time seems to be constantly losing ground, as a result of the poor performance recorded by MERE sales.

According to information, this negative image led the administration to put a final padlock at the beginning of this year in the store that had opened a few months ago in Lagadas, “cutting” the already limited network. At the moment, there are 4 supermarkets in our country and more specifically they are located in Corinth, Agrinio, Larissa and Tripoli.

It is worth noting that for its part, the chain in the announcement published for the closure of the point of sale in Lagadas, claimed that the store will be moved to Thessaloniki, avoiding to reveal more details.

In addition, MERE’s development plan has hit the reef of rising prices for raw materials, transport costs and energy, making it almost impossible for many products to live up to their commitment to sell at 20% to 30% lower prices. relative to the rest of the market.

At the same time, in order to reduce operating costs, the products, most of which are privately labeled and either come from local producers or are imported from abroad, are placed on wooden pallets and cardboard boxes and not on shelves, a type of store that does not seem to convince Greek consumers, who are accustomed to doing their shopping in a different store model.

With zero presence in Athens and Thessaloniki, the project might have had better luck if the expansion plan included the two largest cities in the country, where it would also target a larger number of customers, but the limited funds it has provided for rents make it almost prohibitive. its entrance to Athens and Thessaloniki.

The most recent movements of the chain include the creation of a second company in our country, Hellas Market IKE with main shareholders brothers Sergey and Andrey Shnayder, which aims at activities related to food retail.

Finally, it should be noted that in 2020, Svetofor was the seventh largest food chain in Russia, numbering more than 1,700 stores while its revenue reached 2.6 billion dollars.