Two stores of this chain remain operational.
Unable to compete with foreign-owned supermarket chains, LLC "Skai Baltija," which manages the "SKY" supermarket chain, filed for insolvency on Friday, March 13.
The management of LLC "Skai Baltija" notes that the company can no longer compete in the price war with large foreign-owned store chains.
Moreover, in recent years, the geopolitical situation has significantly increased the cost of operations. To ensure a transparent resolution of obligations, the management of the company decided to file for insolvency proceedings.
The "SKY" store chain, managed by a local capital enterprise, was established over 25 years ago. "The philosophy of the enterprise has always been to ensure the highest quality in all aspects of operations, including collaboration with small original producers rather than mass-market brands, thus providing customers with unique products. During its operation, the enterprise has contributed over 63 million euros to the Latvian state budget, and at certain periods, the total number of employees reached 580.
The company has repeatedly successfully overcome crises, including the economic crisis in 2009, and in recent years has also tried to adapt as much as possible to changing market conditions, repeatedly changing administrative leadership, developing various development plans, and optimizing operations and expenses.
The management of "Skai Baltija" notes that the market situation has changed significantly in recent years. Not only has the overall market volume decreased, but large international store chains are gaining increasing influence in Latvian retail, benefiting from lower costs due to significant purchasing volumes. This, in turn, has intensified price competition.
At the same time, consumer behavior has also changed. Customers are increasingly choosing cheaper products, often leaving quality, which has always been the core value of the "SKY" brand, in the background. In such conditions, it has become increasingly difficult for "SKY" to compete with large foreign-owned supermarket chains that can offer lower prices. Additional pressure on the company's operations has also come from the geopolitical situation. After the start of the war in Ukraine, both prices and operational costs have sharply increased, further raising product prices. Given these circumstances, the management of "Skai Baltija" was forced to make the decision to file for insolvency.
During the insolvency process, "Skai Baltija" will cooperate with the insolvency administrator and responsible authorities to ensure the correct and lawful fulfillment of obligations to both cooperation partners and the company's employees.
The SKY stores at Duntes Street 19A and Hippocrates Street 28 will continue to serve visitors until further notice, also providing "prepared SKY," or a selection of in-house products, while the stores at Sigulda Highway 8 and Kārļa Ulmaņa gatve 122 are no longer accessible to visitors.
