April 1, 2024 – 1:33 p.m
Another discount chain may set foot in Hungary soon according to Haszon.hu. Based on the letter obtained by the portal, the Russian retail company Mere would like to expand in Hungary, they want to open 200 stores in three years and achieve a turnover of 700 million euros.
“We are pleased to inform you that the European MERE supermarket chain will now also be available in Hungary,” begins the email obtained by Haszon.hu, which was sent by representatives of the Russian discount chain to their potential business partners at the end of February. According to the idea outlined here, 20 stores will be opened in Budapest and the agglomeration already “in the coming year”.
The Russian discount chain (i.e. the retail network operating in the model of Penny, Lidl and Aldi) was founded in 2009, and since then they have operated around 2,500 stores in 20 countries (e.g. Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Spain, Greece).
In the company’s supply chain and in its expansion problems were caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war and the sanctions affecting the Russian economy, nevertheless in 2023 announced, that they will focus on Eastern European expansion in the near future. Mere already exists, for example, in the Baltic countries and Romania, but among the V4s, they are also already there in Poland, from this point of view it would not be surprising if Hungary were also targeted.
At the market level, it will make the situation more interesting if another retail chain enters the country. Even today, more companies than usual are trying to make a living on the Hungarian market, for years there has been speculation as to when someone will throw in the towel, and the Hungarian government is also doing everything to make foreign-owned chains uncomfortable.
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