Slovenian retail chain Mercator has seen its market share drop in recent years from 45% to 30% in its home market, according to local daily Delo.
Mercator director Toni Balažić told the publication that the company is faced with lower profits due to its restructuring process, price pressure from competition and falling margins for the main food products.
He pointed out that Mercator still has 55% Slovenian products in its assortment, while foreign competitors in Slovenia have up to 80% of imported items on their shelves.
He stressed that since the 2016 merger, Mercator achieved positive synergies of €55 million. Among the highlights he mentioned that 131 stores have been revamped and that the company focused on pricing strategies during 2016.
Balažić declined to comment on parent company Agrokor's financial situation, but said that Agrokor is a significant employer in the region and the only one capable of facing up to competition from foreign chains, adding that he believes that “the team that leads the Group is able to find solutions to the current difficulties due to declining credit ratings”.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
