🇱🇻 Latvia | “Mere” owners restructure operations via Serbia

🇱🇻 Latvia | “Mere” owners restructure operations via Serbia

Latvian discount chain Mere, managed by SIA Latprodukti, has changed its ownership structure, according to Firmas.lv. The company’s Russian shareholders will now hold their stakes through the newly registered Serbian entity SKTrade.

The ultimate beneficial owner remains Russian citizen Sergei Shnaider, one of the founders of Russia’s Svetofor discount chain, on which the Mere model is based. Current share distribution: Shnaider 63%, Yevgeny Pshenitsin 20%, Andrei Shnaider 12%, Valery Yakovlev 5% — all Russian nationals.

Poland’s Interior Ministry earlier imposed sanctions on the Mere owners for “indirect support of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.” The sanctions list includes Torgservis PL and Russian citizens Sergei and Anton Shnaider. Inclusion means frozen assets, exclusion from public procurement and an entry ban to Poland.

Latprodukti posted €31.57 million turnover in 2024 (+53%) but ended the year with a €71,841 loss. The company, founded in 2020, opened Mere stores in Latvia in March 2021.

Context:

The restructuring through Serbia suggests an attempt to maintain operations within the EU market despite sanctions on affiliated entities in Poland. Serbia, not fully aligned with EU sanctions, offers a legal buffer for Russian-origin capital. The case illustrates how sanctioned networks adapt ownership structures to sustain their European presence.