Products are laid out like in a warehouse, some are still in boxes.
The owners of the chains "Svetofor" and "Mayak" — the Shnayder family from Krasnoyarsk, who introduced discount stores to Russians in the early 2010s — are no longer dollar billionaires. This year, in addition to their existing stores, they are launching a new chain of small-format discount stores called "Golden Key."
In mid-June, the launch of the new chain by the Shnayder family was announced in the specialized publication Shopper’s. Like "Svetofor" and "Mayak," these will be discount stores, but smaller in size. In Moscow, for example, representatives of "Golden Key" are looking to rent premises of 350–450 square meters. "Svetofor" and the hypermarkets "Mayak" usually occupy up to 1000 and 2000 square meters respectively.
The logo of the new chain features a yellow key in a red circle. "Krasretail" has also acquired the already existing trademark "Golden Key" from the Sevastopol company "Dobrynya-dar," registered in 2017. According to Shopper’s, five "Golden Keys" are planned to open in Moscow by the end of the year, four locations are already shown on maps in Novosibirsk, two in Nizhny Novgorod, one in Yekaterinburg, and so on. Moreover, everything is being done quite quietly: for example, the store in Novosibirsk has been operating since at least the end of April.
Overall, it resembles other points of this format: products are laid out like in a warehouse, some are still in boxes, there is a refrigeration room for meat, fish, and dairy products, and there are lesser-known brands. Fresh produce is well represented, which is usually a problem for "Svetofor": yellow bananas, round pears, clean potatoes, onions, cucumbers, and a couple more fruits and vegetables.
Judging by the price tags, products are supplied from Russia, China, and Belarus. Some unfamiliar brands overlap with products from "Svetofor," but in addition to no-name brands, there are also well-known ones: Barilla pasta, "Plombir on Cream," Fax deodorants, "AOS" dishwashing liquid, and some other brands that usually do not sit on discount store shelves. The instant noodles Booldak, which seem to mimic the popular Korean Buldak, were surprising.
They do not skimp on volumes: if it’s Lay’s chips, the pack is 280 grams; if it’s Barilla, it’s 850. Prices for some products are clearly lower than competitors and even in their own "Svetofor." For example, a mega pack of Lay’s costs 220 rubles — in "Svetofor" near the Central Market, the same one cost reporters 15 rubles more, while in supermarkets, a 100-gram pack usually costs just under 200 rubles. The price tag for the 850-gram Barilla is 163 rubles, a Chinese nectarine is 143 rubles per kilogram, and Barnaul cucumbers and potatoes are 99 and 83 rubles respectively.
NGS.RU observer Stas Sokolov assessed "Golden Key" as an attempt to distance from the negative aura that has surrounded "Svetofor" throughout its history and especially in 2025 amid mass inspections of stores.
The Mere retail chain also belongs to the Russian company "Svetofor." Poland has already imposed sanctions against the owners of the Mere store chain. Lithuania and Latvia are also targeting the retail chain. The activities of Mere stores in Latvia began in March 2021, managed by SIA Latprodukti. According to the Firmas.lv website, there are currently 11 Mere stores in Latvia. In 2023, Latprodukti's turnover was 20.637 million euros - 88.9% more than in 2022, and the company's profit increased several times, reaching 748,621 euros. 61% of Latprodukti's capital belongs to Russian citizen Sergey Shnayder. Co-owners of the company also include Yevgeny Pshenitsyn (20%), Andrey Shnayder (12%), Valery Yakovlev (5%), and Andrey Veikulainen (2%).
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