Balkans retailer Mercator, which has seen two bids made for a majority stake in its business, has reported a fall in first-quarter sales amid “challenging” macroeconomic conditions in the region.

Mercator posted a 2.6% drop in revenue to EUR658.4m (US$846.3m) for the first three months of the year.

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The retailer, which has stores across the Balkans, saw its losses narrow slightly, falling EUR9.1m to EUR8.6m year-on-year. Mercator, however, admitted this year’s first-quarter loss was “higher than anticipated”.

“We are facing challenging macroeconomic conditions, that are not expected to improve at least until 2014,” Mercator said.

Earlier this week, the consortium of investors looking to sell a combined 53.2% of Mercator said it had received two offers.

Reports have named Croatian retailer Agrokor and private-equity firm Mid Europa Partners. Agrokor has declined to comment, while Mid Europa Partners has not returned a request for comment.

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