// Mere begins taking deliveries of stock as it prepares for the opening of its first UK store
// The Preston store has a few final touches remaining for the store fit-out
// The finalised opening date depends on how quickly the rest of the stock is delivered
Russian discount chain Mere has reportedly said it is accepting deliveries of stock as it continues preparing for the opening of its first UK store.
The store, which is set to open in Preston, has a few final touches remaining for the store fit-out, including its walk-in chiller room.
The finalised opening date depends on how quickly the rest of the stock is delivered, The Grocer reported.
READ MORE: Russian discounter Mere to open over 300 UK stores
“We have started taking deliveries at the Preston store,” Mere UK business development manager Aleksandr Chkalov said.
It’s the first of four UK stores set to be opened by Mere this year, the other three being in Castleford, Caldicot and Mold.
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 1200 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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