Poland has imposed sanctions on the MyPrice Russian discount supermarket chain, better known to Russians as the Svetofor chain, which recently returned to operate in two locations in Poland.

The authorities citied concerns over the company's indirect support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The decision, announced by Poland's National Tax Administration (KAS), reflects the country's ongoing efforts to sever economic ties that may contribute to the conflict, Vedomosti reports.

The sanctioned supermarket chain, operating under the brand Mere, is known for its low-cost retail model and has been expanding its presence in various European countries after becoming well established in Russia. According to KAS, the company's operations in Poland are linked to entities that have been identified as supporting Russia's military actions.​

"The company indirectly supports Russia's aggression against Ukraine," stated a representative from KAS. "By imposing these sanctions, we aim to prevent any economic activities that could aid the aggressor."​

The sanctions include freezing the company's assets within Poland and prohibiting any financial transactions with the entity.

Industry analysts suggest that the impact on the local retail market will be minimal, given Mere's relatively small footprint in Poland.

The company was operating as Torgservis PL and recently returned to Poland with its discount chain MyPrice that opened in late 2024. The chain previously operated in Europe under the name Mere but was forced to close following the invasion of Ukraine. The business is owned by the Russian brothers Sergey and Andrey Shnayder, who also operate the Svetofor (traffic light) discount supermarket chain, which has over 2,000 stores in Russia, according to Forbes.

As bne IntelliNews reported Svetofor has been quietly rolling out stores in Europe under the sanctions radar and opened a Hungarian outlet in 2024.

Discount retailers have been booming in the years since the pandemic and become major retail players in Russia. Svetofor started out in the Southern Krasnoyarsk region and became the fastest growing Russian retailer in 2020, with RUB180bn ($2.3bn) turnover in that year.

Torgservis Group, which operates stores under the Mere and Svetofor brands, launched in Serbia in late 2020 and moved into Serbia in 2022.