Apranga CEO Rimantas Perveneckas told BNS that the company plans to start developing a brand new clothing chain next year and to open the Baltics' first multi-brand luxury clothing store in Tallinn.
"The situation in the Baltic retail market is not very bad compared with that in the European Union. Growth is expected. This is why we are planning higher sales. This is also related to our plans to open new stores, but we have also taken into consideration H&M's (planned) entry into the Lithuanian market," he said.
Perveneckas said that Apranga's 2013 sales growth scenario is realistic.
The CEO said that most of next year's investments, planned at around 20 million litas (EUR 5.8m), will be directed to Latvia and Estonia.
"We treat all Baltic markets the same way, but in Tallinn, we have managed to find a good location and suitable premises for opening a prime line multi-brand clothing store. We are also planning a novelty in the market, a new clothing chain that we will start to roll out in Latvia and Lithuania," he said.
The Apranga Group aims to increase its annual revenues by 12 percent next year, to 589 million litas. It plans to open or overhaul 15 to 17 stores. Investments should stay close to this year's level, at around 18 million to 22 million litas.