Russian retailer Mere has announced that it plans to close its store in Opwijk, Belgium, from mid October.
In a Facebook post, the retailer said that the store was 'insufficiently profitable'.
It plans to open 10 new stores in the country and is looking for properties in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Brugge and Leuven.
The store opened after Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year and was the cause of controversy, according to a report in the online publication gondola.be.
Expansion Plans
Mere called off plans to open new stores in Belgium in 2021, as finding the ‘right suppliers’ became a bottleneck for the discounter, according to media reports.
The company imposes strict conditions on its suppliers, including the responsibility to deliver goods to various stores and paying only for goods that are actually sold, among others.
In September 2021, the company announced plans to open its first three stores in France in October in Pont-Sainte-Marie, Sainte-Marguerite and Thionville, adding that the Grand Est region has been chosen to 'start the development of its network' in France.
In March of this year, the discounter opened its first store in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in eastern Sarajevo.
At that time, it also announced plans to open more stores in Doboj and Prijedor in June 2022, to be followed by Bijeljina, Bihać, Mostar, Banja Luka, Tuzla and Zenica.
Mere’s goal is to have between 50 and 80 points of sale in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cities with over 50,000 inhabitants.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
