Russian discount merchant Fix Price strategies to open stores in Serbia later on this year, the Kommersant organization paper reported Wednesday, citing job listings on the recruitment website Headhunter and a confidential retail sector source.Fix Price later confirmed its growth plans, stating market conditions and customer demand in Serbia complement its business model.The relocation marks an unusual case of a Russian business expanding into the European market since Moscow launched its full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering a flurry of Western sanctions.In November 2023, Fix Price investors voted to move the business jurisdiction from Cyprus to Kazakhstan.Fix Price did not supply more details about its growth into Serbia, however Kommersant cited an industry source as stating the merchant plans to openseveral brick-and-mortar stores in the Balkans nation in the second half of 2025.
The business will compete with European sellers such as Dutch-Belgian-owned Delhaize, Germanys Lidl and Slovenias Mercator in the Serbian market.Another Russian discount chain, Svetofor, has opened around 20 shops in Serbia since 2020, though market specialists told Kommersant the brand has struggled in Europe.Founded in 2007, Fix Price operates more than 6,500 shops throughout Russia and other former Soviet countries, as well as in the United Arab Emirates and Mongolia.
Since late 2024, the chain likewise had 44 shops in Latvia, an EU and NATO member.In 2021, Fix Price staged a $2 billion stock exchange launching on the London Stock Exchange the biggest going public (IPO) for a Russian retail company.