AS Prisma Latvija, the Latvian subsidiary of SOK Corporation, has signed an agreement on opening a fourth Prisma hypermarket in Riga. The hypermarket, scheduled to open in the summer of 2012, is located in the densely populated Plavnieki district.
The Prisma in Plavnieki will be opened in a new, to-be-built property which will also include shops. VCA Baltic Retail, a Finland-based real estate investment fund, is the project developer. The Finnish-Latvian SIA Castor Construction company is in charge of the shopping center design and construction, overseen by SIA Projekti Insener.
The total area of the new shopping center will be about 11,500 m², of which the Prisma hypermarket will account for 6,600 m². In addition, almost 700 parking spaces will be available for the customers.
Currently there are two Prisma hypermarkets operating in Riga. A third Prisma hypermarket will launch in the Imanta district in the summer of 2011. The objective for the next few years is to open several new Prisma hypermarkets throughout Riga.
"Our competitive advantages in the Riga market include a permanently inexpensive price level, a large selection, and easy shopping. The new hypermarket is situated in large residential suburbs along excellent traffic connections, which is a further advantage," says Pekka Sääskilahti, Managing Director of AS Prisma Latvija.
VCA Baltic Retail, the shopping center developer, is a real estate investment fund established in the summer of 2010, investing in commercial property located in the Baltic countries, and in the development of the property. VCA Baltic Retail is part of the Vicus Group operating in the Baltic countries, Russia and Ukraine. In addition to other property, Vicus is the developer and owner of the Prisma hypermarket launched in Narva, Estonia, in October 2010.
"Prisma is an important partner for us, and we are happy to also be involved in the chain expansion in Latvia," says Risto Hiekka, Managing Director of Vicus Capital Advisors Limited which manages VCA Baltic Retail.
Source: Vicus Capital Advisors
