Mere, the discount supermarket chain that claims to be the ‘Russian Lidl’, has opened its first ever UK store in Preston, Lancashire.

The 10,000 sq ft supermarket situated in a former Nisa store in Ribbleton, east Preston is the first Mere store to open in the UK. Mere, the European arm of Russian discount grocery chain Svetofor, has promised to open 300 stores in the UK over the next eight to ten years. 

The retailer has earned its moniker by being even more price-conscious than Aldi and Lidl. Mere claims it is 30% cheaper than either of its German discount competitors and the Preston store carries minimal display or signage. 

Indeed the interior design choices amount to breezeblock walls painted in the brand’s fluorescent yellow livery and the selection of some 1,200 products being stacked high in rows atop wooden pallets to prevent the need for replenishing aisles.

Other cost-saving messages at Mere include having suppliers deliver products straight to stores and limiting the number of staff at any one store to eight.

Alongside a host of own brands, Mere also stocks a number of branded products, including Fairy washing-up liquid, Shreddies cereal, Nescafé coffee, Pampers nappies and Lenor detergent.

However, perhaps oddly for a supermarket, Mere doesn’t sell fresh fruit or vegetables, or other staples such as bread, milk or eggs. 

A further three Mere outlets are also planned this year – including two in Wales, in Mold and Caldicot, and another in Castleford in West Yorkshire.

Mere, which trades as Svetofor in Russia, has 3,200 stores internationally and opened its first European Mere store in 2018.

Countries it now operates in include Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine.