Slovenia's Mercator Bosnian Unit Eyes 5.0% Retail Market Share by 2010 - Media

Mercator BH plans to invest 30 million marka ($19.8 million/15.3 million euro) until the end of this year in opening new retail outlets, daily newspaper Dnevni Avaz reported, quoting the director of the company, Mensud Lagumdzija.

Lagumdzija said Mercator has invested 162 million marka in building six retail centres and acquiring ten existing outlets in Bosnia since it entered the market in 2000.

Mercator said in August that it would put 42 million euro ($53.6 million) into the construction of its seventh trade centre in the northwestern city of Banja Luka in line with its strategy to become a leading player in Southeastern Europe. The new outlet will open in March.

The other Mercator retail centres in Bosnia are located in the capital Sarajevo, the southern town of Mostar and the northern towns of Tuzla and Brcko.

Mercator also operates in Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and plans to enter the markets of Macedonia and Bulgaria. It has said it would invest up to 260 million euro a year until 2012 to keep its dominant position at home and become a leading retailer in Southeastern Europe.

(1 euro = 1.95583 Bosnian marka)