 | |
| Company type | Limited liability company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail stores |
| Founded | December 5, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-12-05) |
| Headquarters | Dunajska cesta 107,Ljubljana, Slovenia |
Key people | Tomislav Kramarić(President of the Manager Board) |
| Brands | Mercator, Lumpi, Minute, Bio Zone, Free Zone, Olea, Dax, Finesse, Buddy, Kitty, Maxen |
| Revenue | 1,200,000,000 euro (2018)  |
| −10,900,000 euro (2018) | |
| Total equity |  Fortenova Group |
Number of employees | 20,300 (2021)[1] |
| Website | Corporate website |
Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.o.o. (pronounced[mɛɾˈkaːtɔɾ];Latin for 'merchant') is a Slovenian business conglomerate. One of the largest companies inSlovenia by annual revenue, it is the parent company of theMercator Group ofsupermarket chains. It is wholly owned by the Croatianjoint-stock companyFortenova Group.
In addition to Slovenia, Mercator Group is also present inSerbia,Montenegro,Bosnia and Herzegovina, andCroatia. The core business of the Mercator Group is theretail ofeveryday consumer goods through a diversified retail network acrossSlovenia,Serbia,Bosnia and Herzegovina, andMontenegro.
Mercator dates back to 1949 and the founding of the wholesale companyŽivila Ljubljana – the predecessor of Poslovni sistem Mercator, d. d., which was reorganised as a limited liability company on 4 July 2022.[2] At the time of its founding, Mercator sold goods from a warehouse. Today, however, Mercator is one of the most modern retailers in the region with 20,300 employees across the entire Mercator Group.[3]
Since April 2021, Mercator has been owned byFortenova Group It acquired the shares fromAgrokor, which had bought the Slovenian retailer in 2014.Fortenova initially owned 89.11% of Mercator, increasing its stake to 90.005% after the general meeting held in September 2021.[4][5] Fortenova became the sole owner of Mercator on 1 April 2022, after forcing out minority shareholders. Then, in mid-April, the General Assembly approved the delisting of the company's shares from the stock exchange.[6]
Mercator aims to establishstate-of-the-art store concepts on all of itsmarkets. Its continued growth is based on efficientbusiness models that include an attractive offer for customers, long-term partnerships with local and regional suppliers, new store concepts, as well asoperational efficiency andcost efficiency across all the areas of its business.[7][8]
Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.o.o., is the largest retail company inSlovenia with 1,014retail units, 466 of which are located inSlovenia, 341 inSerbia, 128 inMontenegro, and 79 inBosnia and Herzegovina. It also boasts 163franchise stores inSlovenia (as of 31 December 2021).
The company's core business is the sale ofconsumer goods, with a separate business area for homeware (M Tehnika, 41 stores) and wholesale (13 Cash&Carry centres).
Mercator's two independent production companiesMercator – Emba, d.o.o.,[9] andMercator IP, d.o.o.[10] are also active on the Slovenian market. Moreover, Mercator also owns the companyM – Energija, d.o.o.,[11] which runs the Maxen[12]self-service gas stations.[13][14]
Mercator was the firstretailer of everyday products inSlovenia with its owne-commerce website,[15] the first retailer to set upself-service checkouts, the first retailer to enable shopping with the M Sken and M Sken MOBILE apps,[16][17][18][19] and the first retailer to develop the Moj M mobile platform with the M Pay mobile wallet.[20][21][22]
Mercator is constantly integrating innovative solutions with its services and offers, gradually changing and upgrading them, adapting them to the needs of customers, and replacing some of them with new ones. This way, it keeps improving both the shopping experience and its own performance, providing customers with what they want, what they need, and what holds added value for them at a given moment, thus developing stores that are tailored to the customer's needs.[23][24][25]
Mercator'sonline store, which has been successfully running for more than two decades, is becoming an essential part of Mercator's digital transformation. Its goal is to solidify Mercator's omnipresence or omni-channel approach and secure Mercator's position as the customer's first choice in any given place and at any given moment. Mercator continuously improves its offer so as to make it attractive and tailored to online customers and their buying habits.[15]
Mercator is investing heavily in thedigitisation of itsbusiness processes and indigital communication, which it considers to be one of its strategic segments. Thus, in 2021, Mercator introduced a new digital communication channel and an innovative ecosystem that provides users with a holistic experience both inside and outside the digital environment, and goes beyond the limits of traditional communication. Mercator was the first retailer to launch its own media, the content video platformwww.msoseska.tv. It is aimed at a broad spectrum of users, regardless of their age and lifestyle, who want to view short and useful content – not only for entertainment, but also whenever they need advice, want to save time, or want to make their work easier. Certain pieces of content onM Soseska (M Neighbourhood) also reflect Mercator's involvement in the Slovenian culture and sports, which Mercator has been supporting for many years.[26][27][28]
In addition toSlovenia, Mercator operates as a local retailer in three other markets in the region:Serbia,Bosnia and Herzegovina, andMontenegro.[29]
The first Mercator store inBelgrade,Serbia opened in 2002. Today, Mercator S, d.o.o., Serbia has a total of 341 stores in many Serbian cities under the Mercator, Roda, and Idea brands.[30][31]
Mercator entered theMontenegrin market in 2007. It has been operating under the Idea brand since 2017.[32][33]
In 2000, Mercator opened its first store inSarajevo. In 2014, all stores owned by Mercator BH, d.o.o.,Bosnia and Herzegovina were transferred toKonzum. In September 2017, all 83 stores were reacquired by Mercator BH, d.o.o., Bosnia and Herzegovina.[34][35][36][37]
In 2014, Mercator's operations inCroatia were acquired byKonzum. Mercator H, d.o.o., Croatia, has retained the real estate operations.[38][39][40]
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