A statement on the company's website by Jorma Vehviläinen, executive vice president said: "Earlier this year we began to review our international business strategy. In the process, we came to the conclusion that our Prisma store market shares in Latvia and Lithuania are not big enough to be able to make a profitable business in the near future," and that future growth prospects were also limited.
Despite "investing heavily in both countries in recent years," the purchasing power of local consumers was not strong enough. Also the shutting down of a Prisma store in Deglava Street by building inspectors over safety concerns had "significantly weakened our performance in Latvia," the statement said.
There are three Prisma stores in Latvia and four in Lithuania. All will close in June.
Commercial activities will be terminated in a controlled manner and the procedure will start with the sale in early May. Prisma will fulfill its obligations to suppliers and service providers.
Prisma stores in Estonia and Russia will continue to operate.
