EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Markets and Companies

According to Abolina, taking into account the current economic situation, the company has decided to postpone the purchase of the Belgian cosmetics company. ''The decision was made due to financial reasons, because it would not be smart to purchase The Soap Story at this moment. We hope to postpone this deal until better times,'' said Abolina.

As reported, Stenders was planning to purchase The Soap Story for EUR 550,000 (LVL 386,542).

The acquisition of The Soap Story would have allowed Stenders to enter the Western European market, in which it has been operating relatively little until now.

The Soap Story is a company, established in 2003, which produces bath and body cosmetics and operates a chain of 35 shops, located in Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Portugal, Netherlands and Cyprus.

Stendera ziepju fabrika was founded in 2001 and it also manufactures bath and body beauty treatment products. The enterprise has developed a chain of 180 shops, which operate in 14 countries around the world, including China, Japan, Finland, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Hungary etc.

Stendera ziepju fabrika posted LVL 3.5 million in turnover last year, which is 4.5% more than in 2007, when it stood at 3.35 million. The company's gross profit reached LVL 1.29 million in 2008.