Economy 10 July 2024, 8:28am

Spar closes shop in Debrecen, may be replaced by new Russian discount chain

Portfolio

In mid-July, a Spar store in downtown Szolnok will close for good, and following the announcement of the closure, there are already rumours that the new entrant to the Hungarian retail market, Russia's Mere will replace it, Világgazdaság reports.

Eltörli a kormány a kiskermultik korlátozását, de újabb lépésre készül

The Spar store in question will remain open on the ground floor of the Pelikán Shopping Centre until the end of the week, and Spar's head of communications, Márk Maczelka, told the news portal that the reason for the closure is that the store would not be able to operate profitably in the future.

The local newspaper Szol24 subsequently reported rumours that the Russian discount chain Mere might open a store in the Spar's place next week, but the operator of Pelikán could neither confirm nor deny these rumours to Világgazdaság.

As reported by Portfolio a few days ago, Mere's first store in Hungary will also open on the site of a closed Spar in Káposztásmegyer.

Russian Mere's expansion in Hungary is in line with the interest in the discount chain in Europe and Western Europe. The business model, with its emphasis on efficiency and cost minimisation, could be attractive to countries where shoppers are increasingly looking for low prices.