The merger process, which began in mid-year following a decision to merge and a reorganization plan, was finalized at the end of November. The contract was signed on August 2nd, leading to the existence of Konzum as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fortenova Group. Nihad Imširović remains the director of Konzum, with Nedeljka Bilić and Ante Knezović on the board.
This merger, a result of ownership consolidation within the Fortenova Group, was anticipated, especially after a similar process in Croatia.
Since September 2021, a joint management has overseen both retail chains under the same ownership, featuring similar product assortments. Last summer, Mercator BH was detached from the Serbian Mercator and transferred under the direct ownership of the Fortenova Group, as reported by Indikator.ba.
Mercator opened its first store in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2000. After years of organic growth and acquisitions, including Gadžo Komerce and Omega Živinice, it was taken over in 2014 by the Croatian conglomerate Agrokor, and its retail network was subsumed under Konzum d.o.o. Sarajevo. Mercator re-entered the Bosnian market in 2017, separating the Mercator brand from Konzum. Six years after the separation, Mercator has once again been absorbed into Konzum.
The strengthened Konzum, post-merger, becomes a formidable player in the retail market. The two chains collectively operate around 250 stores, surpassing Bingo’s 225, though Bingo remains the leading player in terms of turnover and market share. In recent years, Konzum has focused on smaller neighborhood stores, while Bingo boasts a significant number of large-format outlets.
