Maxima Group

Maxima Group, legally MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB, is a Lithuanian retail group headquartered in Vilnius. It is best known for the Maxima supermarket chain, one of the largest grocery retail operations in the Baltic states. The group operates stores in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and has also developed or acquired retail and e-commerce businesses in Poland, Bulgaria and Spain at different points in its history. Its principal commercial activity is the sale of food, household necessities, personal-care products and other everyday consumer goods through stores of different sizes, supported by private-label products, promotional pricing and online grocery services. The group’s retail history began in Lithuania in the early 1990s, when three stores opened in Vilnius under different names. The first store using the Maxima name opened in 1998. The chain expanded beyond Lithuania in 2000, entering Latvia and Estonia and establishing the Baltic footprint that remains central to the business. MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB was established as a holding company in 2007, providing a corporate structure for the group’s retail operations and subsequent acquisitions. Expansion outside the Baltic states included the acquisition of the Aldik supermarket chain in Poland at the end of 2011. Maxima also entered Spain through the SuperSol supermarket and Cash Diplo cash-and-carry businesses, which it controlled between 2012 and 2020 or, in the case of Cash Diplo, through a subsequent corporate transition. In 2017, the group acquired RADAS, the company managing the Barbora online grocery business. Barbora became an important digital extension of the group’s supermarket operations, although its Polish operations were discontinued in 2024. In 2018, Maxima acquired Emperia Holding, the Polish company operating the Stokrotka chain, for EUR 276 million. Aldik’s Polish stores were subsequently integrated into Stokrotka, with the rebranding process continuing after the transaction. Maxima Group’s operating model combines large supermarkets and smaller neighborhood formats with online grocery delivery. Maxima stores offer food, beverages, fresh produce, prepared foods, household goods and other frequently purchased products. The group’s geographic concentration in the Baltics gives it substantial scale in Lithuania and meaningful positions in Latvia and Estonia, while its Polish and Bulgarian activities have broadened the portfolio beyond the home region. The group has also periodically reshaped its portfolio by selling, transferring or discontinuing businesses that no longer fit its strategy. The company’s history also includes a major corporate and reputational crisis. On 21 November 2013, the roof of a Maxima XX supermarket in Riga’s Zolitūde district collapsed during trading hours. Fifty-four people, including three rescue workers, died and at least 41 people were injured. Investigations and later proceedings identified serious deficiencies associated with the building’s design and construction. No Maxima retail company representatives were ultimately criminally convicted, a result that generated continuing public criticism and debate about accountability, oversight and corporate responsibility. Maxima Group remains an active grocery retailer, with the Maxima chain and Barbora forming the core of its consumer-facing identity. Its precise current store count, market shares and country portfolio should be checked against the latest company reporting because the group’s operations and ownership structure have changed over time.

Maxima Group developed from the post-Soviet transformation of Lithuanian retail. Three Vilnius stores opened under different names in 1992, establishing the retail operations that later became associated with the Maxima identity. The first Maxima-branded store opened in 1998. The chain expanded into Latvia and Estonia in 2000, creating a Baltic operating platform and making the business one of the region’s most significant grocery retailers. MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB was established in 2007 as the group’s holding company. The holding structure supported further geographic expansion and the management of multiple retail formats and brands. In Poland, the group acquired the Aldik supermarket chain at the end of 2011. From 2012 to 2020, it also owned the Spanish supermarket business SuperSol and the Cash Diplo cash-and-carry division. SuperSol operated mainly in Madrid and southern Spain before being sold to Carrefour in 2020; Cash Diplo underwent a corporate takeover in 2021. Digital retail became a further area of development. In 2017, Maxima Group acquired RADAS, the company managing the Barbora online grocery store. Barbora extended the group’s reach beyond physical supermarkets through online ordering and grocery fulfillment. The group expanded its Polish presence in 2018 by acquiring Emperia Holding, operator of Stokrotka, for EUR 276 million. Aldik and Stokrotka were subsequently combined, and the Polish stores formerly carrying the Aldik name were converted to Stokrotka. The group’s most consequential crisis occurred on 21 November 2013, when the roof of a Maxima XX store in Riga’s Zolitūde neighborhood collapsed. The disaster killed 54 people, including three rescue workers, and injured at least 41 others. The building had opened only about a year earlier and was undergoing work connected with a planned rooftop garden. Investigations pointed to major design and construction shortcomings. Legal proceedings resulted in trials of people associated with the building’s design and construction, but no Maxima company representatives were ultimately held criminally liable. The outcome remained controversial and affected public perceptions of the company and of institutional accountability. Maxima Group’s subsequent development has involved both continued Baltic grocery operations and portfolio management. The Maxima chain remains the group’s central retail brand, while Barbora represents its principal online grocery offering. The group has also reduced or changed selected international activities, including the discontinuation of Barbora’s Polish operations in 2024 and the reported end-of-2025 position of T Market in Bulgaria and Stokrotka in Poland within the group’s portfolio. Because ownership, store numbers and market participation can change, current operational statistics require confirmation from contemporary company disclosures.

• 2024

  Barbora leaves Poland

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Barbora discontinued its Polish operations.

• 2020

  SuperSol sold to Carrefour

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Maxima’s Spanish SuperSol supermarket business was sold to Carrefour.

• 2019

  Aldik integrated into Stokrotka

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The Polish Aldik and Stokrotka operations were merged and continued under the Stokrotka name.

• 2018

  Emperia Holding acquired

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired Polish retailer Emperia Holding, operator of the Stokrotka chain, for EUR 276 million.

• 2017

  Barbora operator acquired

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Maxima Group acquired RADAS, the company managing the Barbora online grocery business.

• 2013

  Zolitūde supermarket collapse

  [2]Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapseen.wikipedia.org

  A roof collapse at a Maxima XX store in Riga killed 54 people and injured at least 41 others.

• 2011

  Aldik acquired in Poland

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Maxima Group acquired the Aldik supermarket chain, which had 24 Polish stores at the time.

• 2007

  MAXIMA GRUPĖ holding company established

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB was established as the group-level holding company.

• 2000

  Baltic expansion

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The retail chain entered Latvia and Estonia, establishing its core regional footprint.

• 1998

  First Maxima store opens

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The first store using the Maxima name opened in Lithuania.

• 1992

  Early Vilnius stores open

  [1]Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Three stores opened in Vilnius under different names, forming the early retail base from which the later Maxima business developed.

A large-format and neighborhood grocery retailer positioned around everyday assortment, Baltic scale, convenience and competitive pricing.

• Grocery retail · 1998

  Maxima supermarkets

  Maxima is the group’s core supermarket brand, operating across Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Stores sell a broad everyday assortment that typically includes packaged food, fresh produce, meat, fish, dairy, bakery products, beverages, household supplies and personal-care goods. The chain uses different store sizes and locations to serve both routine neighborhood shopping and larger weekly grocery trips. Promotions, loyalty activity and private-label merchandise support its value-oriented mass-market positioning.

• Online grocery

  Barbora

  Barbora is the group’s online grocery service, offering digital ordering and delivery of food, household products and other supermarket merchandise. It was developed as a complementary channel to the physical Maxima network after Maxima Group acquired RADAS in 2017. Barbora has operated in several markets, although its Polish operations were discontinued in 2024.

• Grocery retail

  Stokrotka

  Stokrotka is a Polish grocery retail brand associated with Emperia Holding, acquired by Maxima Group in 2018. Stores offer everyday food and household products through a supermarket and neighborhood-oriented format. Polish Aldik stores were progressively rebranded as Stokrotka after the group consolidated the two operations.

• Grocery retail

  SuperSol

  SuperSol was a Spanish supermarket chain owned by Maxima Group between 2012 and 2020. Its stores operated mainly in the Madrid area and in southern Spain, including Andalusia and nearby territories. The business was sold to Carrefour in 2020 and is therefore no longer a current Maxima Group offering.

• Cash-and-carry retail

  Cash Diplo

  Cash Diplo was the group’s Spanish cash-and-carry division connected with its former Spanish retail operations. It served a wholesale-oriented customer base rather than functioning solely as a conventional supermarket chain. The business was subject to a corporate takeover in 2021 and is not treated as a current core Maxima Group offering.

• Grocery retail

  T Market

  T Market was the group’s Bulgarian retail chain. It formed part of Maxima Group’s international portfolio alongside the Baltic Maxima business and the former Polish and Spanish operations. Reference material indicates that the group no longer owned T Market after the end of 2025.

• 2013

  Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse

  On 21 November 2013, the roof of a Maxima XX supermarket in Riga’s Zolitūde district collapsed during opening hours. Fifty-four people died, including three rescue workers, and at least 41 people were injured. Investigations identified serious deficiencies in the building’s design and construction, including issues connected with work on a planned rooftop garden. Several people involved in the design and construction were tried, but no representatives of the Maxima retail company were ultimately criminally convicted. The outcome prompted sustained criticism and debate over corporate and regulatory accountability.

  Source

Read more

• 2024

  Discontinuation of Barbora PolandStrategy

  Background

  The group continued to adjust its online grocery footprint across markets.

  Action taken

  Barbora discontinued its operations in Poland.

  Aftermath

  Barbora’s Polish market presence ended, while the service remained associated with Maxima’s broader online grocery activities.

  Source

• 2020

  Sale of SuperSolM&A

  Background

  The group reviewed its international portfolio after operating SuperSol in Spain for several years.

  Action taken

  Maxima Group sold SuperSol to Carrefour.

  Aftermath

  The transaction reduced Maxima Group’s direct exposure to Spanish supermarket retail.

  Source

• 2019

  Consolidation of Polish retail brandsStrategy

  Background

  Maxima Group had both the acquired Aldik stores and the Stokrotka chain in Poland.

  Action taken

  The group merged the Polish retail operations and continued them under the Stokrotka name.

  Aftermath

  Aldik ceased to be the operating banner for those stores as the rebranding process proceeded.

  Source

• 2018

  Acquisition of Emperia HoldingM&A

  Background

  Maxima Group aimed to strengthen its position in Poland through the operator of the Stokrotka retail chain.

  Action taken

  The group acquired Emperia Holding for EUR 276 million.

  Aftermath

  The Polish Aldik and Stokrotka operations were consolidated, with Aldik stores subsequently rebranded as Stokrotka.

  Acquisition price. EUR 276 million (2018 transaction)

  Source

• 2017

  Acquisition of RADAS and BarboraM&A

  Background

  Online grocery was becoming an important complement to physical supermarket retail.

  Action taken

  Maxima Group acquired RADAS, the company managing the Barbora online grocery store.

  Aftermath

  Barbora became a principal digital grocery channel associated with the group, although its Polish operations later ended in 2024.

  Source

• 2012

  Entry into Spanish grocery retailM&A

  Background

  Maxima Group sought to broaden its geographic presence beyond the Baltic states.

  Action taken

  The group acquired the Spanish SuperSol supermarket and Cash Diplo cash-and-carry businesses.

  Aftermath

  SuperSol was later sold to Carrefour in 2020, while Cash Diplo underwent a corporate takeover in 2021.

  Source

1. 1Maxima Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapseen.wikipedia.org