Svetofor ('traffic light' in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) is a chain of discount

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more lim ...

s headquartered in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yen ...

, Russia. The chain, owned by Torgservis, operates stores in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and China. As of December 2019 its network comprised approximately 1,400 locations.

History

In November 2017, the chain registered the ''MERE'' brand

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

with the

European Union Intellectual Property Office The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO; french: links=no, Office de l'Union européenne pour la propriété intellectuelle), founded in 1994, is the European Union Agency responsible for the registration of the European Union trad ...

, and the first store under this branding opened the following year in

Snagov Snagov (population: 7,272) is a commune, located north of Bucharest, in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. According to the 2011 census, 92% of the population is ethnic Romanian. The commune is composed of five villages: Ciofliceni, Ghermănești ...

, Romania. ''MERE'' has since expanded into other European markets including Germany, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland, where it opened its first outlet in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admi ...

in July 2020. In 2021 it planned to open its first stores in the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Austria, Spain and Italy. Launch in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

was planned for 2022. The company's operating model aims to undercut local supermarket prices by around 20-30% by having suppliers deliver directly to stores, keeping staffing levels low and displaying goods directly on the pallets on which they arrive.

Controversies

In 2021, MERE was banned from operating in Ukraine due to its connections with Russian secret services. In March 2022, MERE closed its only UK store, in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, due to political pressure caused by the war in Ukraine. n early April 2022, activists in Poland organized a protest related to the criticism of Mere as a Russian network, in connection with

Russia's invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

References

{{reflist Retail companies of Russia Russian brands Food retailers of Russia Russian companies established in 2009 Retail companies established in 2009