The large retail chains operating in Lithuania do not intend to follow the example of "Norfa" and return Russian and Belarusian goods to the shelves. Vaida Budrienė, the head of the communication department of the "Iki" trade network, assures that Russian and Belarusian goods are not sold in "Iki" stores, and the trade network does not support any trade relations with Russia and Belarus.
"In the first days of the Russian war, we removed all Belarusian and Russian goods, blocked their sales through cash registers, and we have no intention of returning these goods to the shelves," V. Budrienė told Elta.
The chain of stores also does not intend to return Russian and Belarusian products to the shelves.Lidl Lithuania". According to Lidl Lietuva's public relations representative Lina Skersytė, the retail chain has never been characterized by an abundance of products from these countries.
"We have only had Russian or Belarusian goods in small quantities during special offers. At the moment, there are no such products in our assortment," L. Skersytė assured.
Maxima's public relations representative Rima Aukštuolytė also stated that there are no plans to return to the sale of Russian and Belarusian goods.
"Since February 28, goods of Russian and Belarusian origin are no longer available in our stores - they have been withdrawn from trade, and orders for new goods have been suspended," R. Aukštuolytė told Elta.
The largest part of Russian and Belarusian products consisted of alcoholic beverages
Prior to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, the majority of Russian and Belarusian goods in Lithuanian retail chains were alcoholic beverages. The representative of Maximos, R. Aukštuolytė, said that before the beginning of the war, the sales of goods of Russian origin amounted to about 0,8 percent. of all sales, and Belarusian sales - 0,4 percent.
"The largest share of sales of products made in Russia consisted of alcoholic beverages, dry semi-finished products and sauces, and caramels. A smaller part is tea bags and dry groceries, such as sunflowers," said R. Aukštuolytė.
"At that time, only 50 products generated most of the sales of products made in Belarus: alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, fish products, hematogen. Alcoholic beverages make up the largest part of the withdrawn goods, as well as a number of industrial goods," she added.
Meanwhile, V. Budrienė, the head of the communication department of "Iki", highlighted that the majority of the products of the mentioned countries consisted of vodka.
"We had teas, shampoos, conditioners, fish products, but alcoholic beverages were the most popular," V. Budrienė said.
The representatives of both retail chains added that they gave most of the Russian and Belarusian products to "Maisto Bank".
"From Russian and Belarusian products, we donated what we could to the Food Bank," said the representative of "Iki".
We have already given fresh food items to the "Food Bank". We will also donate other goods that we can give away, except for alcohol. We have agreed that, for ethical reasons, Russian and Belarusian goods will not be intended for war refugees from Ukraine - they will be distributed to the needy residents of Lithuania," explained R. Aukštuolytė, communications representative of "Maxima".
Viči production retail chains are not going to give up
Dissatisfaction arising in the public space due to Vičiūnai Group's failure to withdraw from Russia, as well as the ongoing campaign by sticking warning stickers on Viči products in stores, did not force retail chains to abandon the products of this company. V. Budrienė, head of the "Iki" communication department, says that conversations with suppliers are ongoing, but the products are still being sold.
"We work in Lithuania and for Lithuanian buyers, we expect the awareness and correct decisions of Lithuanian business", asserted V. Budrienė.
The Lidl Lietuva retail network has not made any decisions regarding possible changes in the sale of "Viči" products.
"Vičiūnų grupė" manufactures part of our private brand products in Lithuania, we sell their brand products only during special promotions", explained L. Skersytė, the public relations representative of Lidl Lietuva.
Meanwhile, Maximos' public relations representative, R. Aukštuolytė, assured that the retail chain unreservedly follows all the decisions and recommendations of the Lithuanian authorities and regularly checks the list of legal entities included in the European Union sanctions package and does not cooperate with the suppliers on the sanctions list.
"We also refused to sell the products of international companies such as Unilever, Nestle, etc., which are produced in factories located in Russia or Belarus," said R. Aukštuolytė.
According to her, “Maxima” has expressed her position to business partners as well, is in constant contact with them and discusses the decisions of both sides.
"But more importantly, the public is actively interested in and watching the decisions of well-known brand owners and actively exercising their right to choose what products they want to buy." From our side, as traders, we will always offer alternative choices to buyers," said the public relations representative of Maximos.
"Norfa": We should sell the Russian goods within a few months
After the start of Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, the Norfa retail chain stopped ordering goods from Russia and removed Russian goods from store shelves, but in early April stated that the goods would be returned to the shelves, and to receive about 0,5 million. euros will be donated to charity. Norfa's press representative Darius Ryliškis assures that there are currently not many Russian and Belarusian goods in stores.
"We plan to sell the rest of the production in a few months. It can be expected that promotions will be applied to this production", said D. Ryliškis.
Ignas Dobrovolskas (ELTA)