Palink is the operator of the "IKI"

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more lim ...

chain in Lithuania.

History

Palink was founded by the brothers George, Oliver and Nicolas Ortiz. The first store was opened in 1992 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

, Lithuania. In 2005, Palink opened its first store in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

, Latvia. In 2014, Palink sold all IKI stores in Latvia (51 stores) to local company Mego, stating that Palink is not interested in investing in Latvia anymore. IKI was 5th largest supermarket chain in Latvia. The company currently operates over 240 "Iki", "Iki Cento" and "Iki Express" stores in more than 70 cities and is the second-largest retail grocer in Lithuania. In 2016, the Iki Cento brand of stores was discontinued. In mid-March 2018, Rimi Lietuva submitted nominations of potential buyers to the Competition Council. The council did not support them, on the grounds that these buyers "would not provide stable and at least as effective competition" as the current company provides until the transaction is implemented. In April, the Competition Council announced that the sale of Iki to Rimi was terminated. In July 2018, the German company REWE increased its stake in Palink to 93.75% of the capital. The second owner was E. Leclerc group Unilec.

References

External links

* Supermarkets of Lithuania Supermarkets of Latvia Companies based in Vilnius 1992 establishments in Lithuania Retail companies established in 1992 Lithuanian brands {{lithuania-stub