The Russian trading network “Svetofor” enters the market of Uzbekistan, the first stores will open in a few days

The Russian trade network “Svetofor” enters the market of Uzbekistan, the first stores will open in a few days. The main competitive advantage of the network is low prices, the correspondent of “Podrobno.uz” reports.

“The opening of the first stores in the country will take place on December 14 in Tashkent and on December 15 in Fergana and Andijan. Svetofor is one of the largest retail chains in Russia, which includes bargain shops,” the Trade Representation of Russia in Uzbekistan noted.

The activity of the Svetofor retail network dates back to 2009, the first stores were opened in the Russian cities of Krasnoyarsk and Achinsk. Three years later, the Svetofor network consisted of 37 stores. Since 2012, active expansion begins – over the next three years, more than 500 stores were opened.

In 2017, the company enters the markets of other countries and opens stores in Belarus and Kazakhstan, while the number of Svetofor stores in Russia exceeded 1000. Svetofor enters the markets of a number of countries, primarily in the EU, with the Mere trademark. From 2018 to early 2021, Mere stores opened in Romania, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Serbia. At the beginning of 2021, the Svetofor network had more than 2,200 operating points.

The main goal of the network is to provide the population with goods at the lowest prices in the region. The store format is a hard discounter, the average store area is about 1000 sq. m. The principle of operation of the network stores is self-service, the range of goods is no more than 2000 items of food and non-food groups. The design of the chain’s stores is a minimal ascetic design of the trading floor and a catchy external design.

The main competitive advantage of the network is low prices – about 20% below the market average due to working directly with manufacturers, tight control over costs and a minimum trade margin. At the same time, the trading floor of the store itself is usually also a warehouse for products, which saves time on servicing the trading floor and reduces the cost of renting premises.