Mercator Strengthens Stake In Emerging Balkan Subsidiary

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The Balkan focused Slovenian mass grocery retailer (MGR) Mercator has acquired an additional 30% of its Montenegrin subsidiary Mercator-Mex to take its overall holding to 81% as it continues to firm up its presence regionally. By no means a large market - Montenegro has a population of just 0.6mn - the emerging Balkan economy serves as a useful complement to Mercator's core non-Slovenian markets of Croatia and Serbia. Although a forecast 5.8% GDP contraction in 2009 has severely dented consumer confidence and underlined the economy's sensitivity to the downturn, the underdeveloped state of Montenegro's MGR industry coupled with the relative