The story
Founded by Nerius Numa in 1992.1
The beginning of the formation of the Vilnius prekyba Group was in 1992. The shareholders of the group companies were 9 Lithuanians, later named “VP devintukas”: brothers Nerijus Numa (group leader), Vladas Numavičius and Julius Numas, brothers Žilvinas, Mindaugas and Gintaras Marcinkevičius, Ignas Staškevičius, Renatas Vaitkevičius, Mindaugas Bagdonavičius.
The first founders of the group became acquainted while studying at the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University. Initially, the group was engaged in the sale of the real estate, actively involved in the privatization process by purchasing the privatization vouchers, later acquired an alcoholic beverage store (Urdžia). Eventually, the focus of the business was on food retail.
The first food retail stores of a unified standard were opened in 1994, and over time, the Maxima retail network has become the largest network in Lithuania and the Baltic States and also the best-known Lithuanian brand in the world. In parallel, the group developed other retail businesses. The first pharmacy network "Eurovaistinė" was opened in 1998, that was the first in Lithuania to offer self-service zones to customers. The DIY sector network Ermitažas opened in 2004. In 2016, Vilniaus Prekyba acquired Akropolis Group, a company that manages Akropolis shopping centers and other real estates. The first Akropolis opened its doors in Vilnius in 2002. In 2017, Maxima grupė bought online store Barbora. In 2018, UAB ERMI GROUP acquired Estonia's largest construction materials retail chain Bauhof, becoming one of the largest construction and home improvement stores in the Baltics by turnover.
In parallel with traditional retail trade, the Vilniaus Prekyba Group is developing e-commerce. Online gained new momentum and meaning in 2020, when, due to the global pandemic, many stores were closed or severely controlled, the increased demand for home delivery of food and other goods forced companies to make much faster progress than was planned over several years. The largest group online trading company Barbora expanded its range of services and greatly increased its home delivery capacity. The company was offering temporary job opportunities to people who were unable to do their normal jobs due to the pandemic. In 2021, Barbora and Azeta e-commerce stores launched in Poland. In Lithuania, the "Vilniaus prekyba" group was supplemented by a new company UAB "Trobos", which offered a new online marketplace in Lithuania, where you can buy goods from different stores with one purchase and receive them in one delivery at the exact time.
From Wikipedia’s article on Vilniaus prekyba, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4
