The Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia has upheld the Competition Council’s decision to allow the opening of a Maxima store in Rīga Plaza, at the same time rejecting Rimi Latvia’s associated complaint as unfounded. With this ruling, the legal proceedings have come to a close, the decision comes into force and cannot be appealed.
"From the very beginning, the Competition Council gave an affirmative response to the opening of a store in Rīga Plaza, bearing in mind the significant benefits the new store would bring to consumers. This, along with the Court ruling, demonstrates that a Maxima store in this Riga location is needed by consumers and necessary for healthy market competition. This is only the second Maxima Latvija store to be located in one of Riga’s large shopping centres, while Rimi can be found in the majority of Riga shopping centres, giving the competition a dominant position in the shopping centre segment and reducing customers’ choices and affordable shopping options. The Maxima store in Rīga Plaza is currently the most up-to-date in the Baltics, providing an improved shopping experience in a particularly modern and convenient environment for residents of the Pārdaugava area, as well as people from elsewhere in Riga and visitors to the city,” explains Maxima Latvija Chairman of the Board Andris Vilcmeiers.
Based on the Competition Council’s affirmative ruling, the Maxima XXX store at the Rīga Plaza fashion and entertainment centre opened to customers on June 7th this year.
As a reminder, Rimi submitted a claim against the Competition Council’s October 13th, 2017 ruling which allowed Maxima’s enlargement, having acquiring premises at the Rīga Plaza fashion and entertainment centre. On June 14th, 2018, the Administrative Regional Court announced its decision not to investigate Rimi Latvia’s claim, upholding the Competition Council’s decision on the opening of a Maxima Latvija store on Rīga Plaza premises.
The Maxima XXX store in the Rīga Plaza fashion and entertainment centre is the flagship store of the chain with most advanced and innovative shopping solutions across the Baltics. The store has a carefully considered design, with technology including energy-efficient LED lighting and other modern technical solutions, friendly for both the customer and the nature. The store was developed using an investment of 2.9 million Euro, the largest investment by Maxima in a single store this year.
Information for the media:
Jānis Beseris
Director of the Department of Corporate Relations
SIA Maxima Latvija
Tel. 29666603
Email: janis.beseris@maxima.lv
www.maxima.lv