Slovenia
Poslovni sistem Mercator, d.o.o., is the largest retail company in Slovenia with 1,014 retail units, 466 of which are located in Slovenia, 341 in Serbia, 128 in Montenegro, and 79 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also boasts 163 franchise stores in Slovenia (as of 31 December 2021). The company's core business is the sale of consumer goods, with a separate business area for homeware (M Tehnika, 41 stores) and wholesale (13 Cash&Carry centres).
Mercator's two independent production companies Mercator – Emba, d.o.o.,[9] and Mercator IP, d.o.o.[10] are also active on the Slovenian market. Moreover, Mercator also owns the company M – Energija, d.o.o.,[11] which runs the Maxen [12]self-service gas stations.[13][14]
Mercator was the first retailer of everyday products in Slovenia with its own e-commerce website,[15] the first retailer to set up self-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 integrating innovative solutions with its services and offers, changing and upgrading them, adapting them to the needs of customers, and replacing some of them with new ones. This way, it seeks to improve both the shopping experience and its own performance, meet customers demands and perceived value, thus developing stores that are tailored to the customer's needs.[23][24][25]
Mercator's online store, which has been 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 still improves its offer so as to make it tailored to online customers and their buying habits.[15]
Mercator is investing heavily in the digitisation of its business processes and in digital 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 platform www.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 on M 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]
