First look at discount supermarket dubbed 'Russian Lidl' as Mere opens doors of first shop in Preston

SHOPPERS have grabbed bargain groceries at a new supermarket dubbed "Russian Lidl".

Mere has opened the doors of its first UK store in Preston today, selling 24 toilet rolls for just £2.70 – more than half the price of other shops.



Shoppers arriving at the store were promised prices of up to 30% cheaper than its rivals.

Items on sale at the store – which is the first of 300 planned for the UK – include household goods like toilet roll and washing up liquid.

Groceries on sale at the store include pasta, biscuits and jars of sauces.

Like German discount stores Lidl and Aldi, Mere has minimal fixtures and fittings so it can offer low prices.

Items are stacked in the large boxes they are delivered in and sit piled high on pallets on the floor.

Unbranded toilet roll in packs of 24 was priced at just £2.70 and one shopper spotted bags of generic pasta priced at 23p for 400g.

A 24-pack of own-brand loo roll will set you back £7.50 at Sainsbury's Morrisons and Asda

Branded bog roll from Andrex, Cushell and Velvet cost the same or more, with the most expensive costing over a tenner.

The cheapest we found but not as cheap was Aldi's 24 pack of Luxury toilet tissue for £6.59 – still £3.89 more than Mere.

The shopper also spotted Fairy Liquid priced at 69p and Fairy dishwasher tablets costing £3.90, and large bottles of Lenor had a £5.90 price tag, though sizes were not clear.

Branded goods on sale also include Pampers and PG Tips but the retailer has not revealed the price list for items available at launch.

The cheapest Fairy Liquid on sale at other supermarkets was 97p at Asda, according to LatestDeals' supermarket comparison tool, but you can get Aldi's own brand washing up liquid is 37p.

Fairy dishwasher tablets are priced at £7.50 for a pack of 58 at Morrisons which works out as 13p per tablet and was the cheapest on sale.

Svetofor was founded in Siberia in 2009, but it's opened stores in Europe since 2018 under the name Mere.

Mere launched in Europe in 2018 and was founded in 2009 in Siberia where it's known as Svetofor.

Further stores in the UK are also planned, including locations in Castleford, Mold and Caldicot.

The Preston store is located at a former Nisa in Ribbleton.

Mere compares itself to Costco, but with no membership fee and no in-store service.

Each UK store will reportedly be about 10,000 square feet and have just eight workers.

The supermarket buys stock from suppliers on a "sale or return basis", which means it'll return any unsold goods to the seller.

The Russian chain is said to have 3,200 stores around the world.


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