Mere is Here: Inside the Russian Discounter's UK Debut

Mere, the bare-bones Russian discount grocery chain that says that its prices are even cheaper than market-leading rivals like Aldi and Lidl, is on an international expansion spree that arrived for the first time in the United Kingdom this month.

U.K.-based Analyst Steve Dresser of Grocery Insight provided written perspective based on a store visit, and the following exclusive photos.

The store, Dresser predicts, will be a "realistic solution for some consumers," while standing in stark contrast to price-focused rivals like Aldi and Lidl that have experienced wild growth in part by upgrading the look, feel and assortments in their stores.

Items are shipped to the store directly from suppliers, and sold directly off pallets inside. Shown here are multiple towers of dried pasta.

Mere's opportunistic buying includes a mix of consumer basics like the discount staple paper goods, and also, a range of general merchandise items like luggage shown here. In Preston, a selection of loose toys was merchandised from a shopping cart parked near the checkout stand.  

A selection of juices and teas. Price signs are single-sheet printouts affixed to the displays.

Fairy brand dish soap, a well-known name in the U.K., was one of the few skus that would be recognizable to any shopper, Dresser says. The tea brand PG Tips, Pampers (in one size) and Shreddies cereal, a General Mills' U.K. brand, were also on display.

Three small freezers on the store floor. When Dresser visited, two of them contained products. A separate walk-in refrigerator stored various cheeses and yogurt, he said.

As reported previously in WGB, Mere was advertising for a real estate selection professional to scout potential U.S. expansion sites in Georgia and Alabama. It is unclear when or whether Mere would arrive.

As in England, the warehouse style store and limited design choices, although helping to achieve an extreme low-cost model, would be something of a radical throwback. 

A strip of yellow paint inside, and a banner-style out front, was about all the design committed to the store, Dresser said. These signs on the building date back to the building's previous tenants.