Maxima supermarket

Maxima Group

Type	Private
Industry	Retail, general merchandise
Founded	Vilnius
Headquarters	Vilnius, Lithuania
Area served	Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania
Key people	Mindaugas Bagdonavičius (CEO)
Products	Groceries, consumer goods
Revenue	€2.7($3.0) billion (2015)
Total equity	€1.1($1.2) billion (2015)
Number of employees	31,569 (2014)
Parent	Vilniaus prekyba
Subsidiaries	UAB "Maxima LT", "Maxima Latvija" SIA, "Maxima Eesti" OÜ, "Maxima Bulgaria" EOOD, UAB "Ermitažas"
Website	Official website

"Maxima" is a retail chain operating in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria and it is the largest Lithuanian capital company and the largest employer in the Baltic States. "Maxima Group" has 508 stores (as of 2013) in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria. Depending on the size of the "Maxima" stores, they offer 3,000 to 65,000 brands. The group employs more than 29,500 people. Its main headquarters is in Vilnius, Lithuania and has also taken over the hold for URBANE, recently launched in 2014.

Three "Maxima" stores were opened in Vilnius in 1992, since then it has become the Baltics' most successful supermarket chain. "Maxima" opened in Latvia in 2001, in Riga. Currently, "Maxima Latvija" SIA in Latvia holds approximately 24% retail market share. "Maxima" opened in Estonia in 2001, in the city of Pärnu. In 2007, first "Maxima XX" stores were opened in the country, and in 2008 the first "Maxima XXX" store was opened in Pärnu. Currently, the Company holds almost 14% market share with 54 "Maxima" shopping centres. At the end of 2011 Maxima Group bought the "Aldik" supermarket chain in Poland with 24 stores. On 21 November 2013, the roof of a Maxima XX store in Riga collapsed, killing 54 people and seriously injuring many more. So far it is not known what caused the disaster, but the police are investigating three scenarios - first that there was an error in architectural design, and authorities overseeing planning had been negligent; secondly that the cause was related to the initial building procedure, and thirdly that it was caused by the current construction of the green roof.

"Maxima" stores operate under several names: "Maxima X", "Maxima XX", "Maxima XXX", "hyper Maxima", "Maxima B", "Ermitažas" and "T-Market". Each type of store is set up according to a defined standard, so that customers can orient themselves easily and find the necessary item. At the "Maxima" shopping centers with two and three Xs, part of the commercial space is rented to specialized stores, so that customers can have access to additional services and goods.