Russian discounter to tackle Aldi and Lidl on home soil

Hard discounters Aldi and Lidl are being challenged in Germany: a new competitor claims to be 20 % cheaper: Russian price fighter Torgservis will open its first store in Leipzig on 29 January.

Goal: 100 stores

The arrival of the new competitor has been in the air for a while, but is now becoming a reality. Through its subsidiary TS Markt, Torgservis plans to open at least a hundred stores in the east of Germany. The retailer will be operating under the brand name Mere, which it is already using in Romania.

The first outlet will be about 1000 sqm in size and located in a building previously used by Aldi, various German media sources say. The store will employ ten people. 70 % of the product range will be low-cost food products as well as items for pets, household products and apparel. 

In Russia, Torgservis successfully runs 800 discounts stores under the labels Svetofor and Mayak. The stores are positioned lower than Aldi and Lidl, and sell a range of 1500 to 2000 products in a no-frills environment, displayed on pallets and including overstocked items. Prices are about 20 % lower than usual at other discounters. Torgservis is also active in Romania, Kazachstan, Azerbaijan and China. Additional stores are planned in Poland.