Explosion chills Rimi Baltija plans for new store

RIGA (BNS) - The Scandinavian-owned RIMI Baltija company has put off the opening of a new shop in the Bernu Pasaule shopping mall in the Latvian capital Riga because of the explosion in another of the company's supermarkets in Riga last week.

The shopping complex near Riga's downtown received a bomb threat the day after the bomb attack in the Centrs complex Aug. 17. Police responded and deemed the call to be a hoax. RIMI Baltija executive director Uldis Lebedevs told BNS that initially it was planned to open the new shop Aug. 24, but in the wake of the tragedy it was difficult to say when the opening would take place.

Two blasts seven minutes apart occurred in the Centrs supermarket in Riga Aug. 17 after 5:00 p.m. when the store was crowded with people. One woman died earlier this week and 34 people were injured in the explosion. RIMI Baltija owns more than six supermarkets and 13 Interpegro-Latvija stores in Latvia. The new shop to be opened in the Bernu Pasaule shopping mall is expected to be as large as the facility which was damaged in the Centrs supermarket last week.

Last year RIMI Baltija earned a profit of 540,000 lats ($885,000) on a net turnover of 22.27 million lats. Interpegro-Latvija profit last year was 1.170 million lats on a net turnover of 23.307 million lats.