[Exclusive] RetailDetail visits Russian discounter Mere in Spain

Mere, the Siberian discount chain that wants to conquer Western Europe, recently opened its first stores in Spain. RetailDetail founder Jorg Snoeck visited one of the stores and analyses the concept, which combines features of Aldi and Action. And the prices? Well…

Overstock and large packagings

“The Mere stores are sober and sparsely furnished, but you can really not call them substandard”, Snoeck concludes after a visit to the store in Aldaia (Valencia). “The store is neat and orderly and the employees, who can be recognised by their red company shirts, are friendly. We counted four at the time of our visit – labour costs are not that high in Spain, of course. A large part of the assortment is displayed on pallets, the other products are on simple shelves. For chilled products, there is a refrigerator of about 30 sqm, a bit like Colruyt in Belgium. The store has three cash registers and is open from 9 am to 9 pm. There is not a lot of comfort though: the entrance doors do not open and close automatically, for example…”