Mercator plans to start services in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia

LJUBLJANA, Nov 14 – The start of activities in Albania by the end of the year and in Kosovo and Macedonia by the end of 2011 will see Slovenia’s Mercator rounding off its expansion program into Southeast Europe, increasing its market presence in the nine countries in which it is represented.
Mercator opened its first centre in Bulgaria on October 14, the first outside a former Yugoslav republic, the company’s chair, Ziga Debeljak, explained.
Informest, an Italian non-profit public organization, reports Mercator aims to set up six centers in the Bulgaria’s main cities by the end of 2010, keeping long-term leasing contracts for supermarkets, bars and restaurants. Its programs should help Mercator become a major player in the region’s retailing sector, in addition to its expansion into the markets of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
The company owns around 95 percent of its outlets, which have a value of around 1.5 billion euro and plans it plans to restructure its operations at the start of 2010.
It has 16 million customers, 1,500 stores and nearly 22,000 employees in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Bulgaria. Outlets include hypermarkets, supermarkets, Cash & Carry and grocery stores.