// Mere to launch UK stores as soon as this year
// The first four UK stores will open in Preston, Castleford, Caldicot and Mold
// Mere is currently advertising for staff for both the Preston and Caldicot stores
Russian discount chain Mere has plans to open over 300 stores in the UK within the next eight to 10 years.
The retailer said it will undercut Lidl and Aldi by 20 per cent to 30 per cent and is set to scale its UK presence once processes have been established, The Grocer reported.
The first four UK stores will open this year, in Preston, Castleford, Caldicot and Mold.
The first, in Preston, is now set to open in mid-July, a date pushed back from June as Mere meets with suppliers and manufacturers.
Mere is currently advertising for staff for both the Preston and Caldicot stores.
Mere’s suppliers are required to deliver directly to stores, and pay only for stock that is sold.
Food will be displayed on pallets in stores of about 10,000sq ft, including a walk-in chiller.
Each will have a maximum of 1,200 SKUs across ambient, chilled and frozen, and eight staff, including about four cashiers and three handling deliveries.
Mere’s parent company Torgservis was founded in 2009 in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, by entrepreneur brothers Sergei and Andrei Schneider.
In its UK growth plans, Mere will target any part of the country where it can lease sites meeting its requirements, including accessibility from major roads.
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