Riga, Nov 20 (LETA) - Retailer Rimi has invested EUR 3 million in pilot projects of a new hypermarket concept in the Baltic states, Rimi Latvia informed LETA.

During the pilot project, the new concept hypermarkets were selected in different sizes and layouts to assess the concept's suitability in different retail environments.

The first hypermarkets of the new concept were opened in Riga, Augusta Deglava Street, as well as in Palanga and Tallinn.

The first observations will allow Rimi to make decisions on further implementation of the concept in the wider Baltic store network, with expansion planned for next year after the pilot stores have completed testing, the company said.

Valdis Turlais, Chairman of the Board of Rimi Latvia, pointed out that in developing the new hypermarket concept, the company and its French partners spent more than a year analyzing shoppers' habits and the experience of other retailers in Europe.

The company noted that the investment includes the reconstruction and adaptation of the stores necessary to implement the new concept.

The next hypermarket to be adapted to the concept will be the Rimi store in Jekabpils.

Rimi Latvia reported a turnover of EUR 1.126 billion last year, up 4.6 percent year-on-year, while its profit rose 31 percent to EUR 38.115 million.

The company was registered in January 1992 and has a share capital of EUR 5 million. Rimi Latvia is wholly owned by Sweden's Rimi Baltic.