On 15 November, the Apranga Group, leader of retail clothing market in Lithuania and the Baltic States, opens the first in Estonia Bershka store with an area of 535 square metres in Rotermanni area, Tallinn. The Bershka concept belongs to Inditex, the leader of retail clothing market worldwide, which develops 8 independent chain concepts: Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Kiddy's Class, Oysho, and Zara Home. The first Bershka store was opened in 1998 as a new Inditex concept oriented to a particularly young consumer. It is the latest fashion trends and the hottest season colours for an especially attractive price. Bershka store in Tallinn is the fourth store of the Apranga Group in Estonia. At the beginning of December, the Apranga Group will open a Zara store in the Kristine shopping centre, which will be the second store of this chain in Tallinn. Within the coming 2 - 3 years, the Group plans to open 15 - 20 stores in Estonia, and it will seek to become a clothing market leader in this country both according to the area of stores and the turnover. Cooperation between a global retail clothing leader Inditex Group and the Apranga Group started in 2004 when the first Zara stores were opened in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. Currently, the Apranga Group operates 19 franchise Inditex group stores in the Baltic States (8 Zara stores, 7 Bershka stores, and 4 Pull & Bear stores). In spring 2008, Vilnius will see the opening of the first Stradivarius store, which also belongs to the Inditex chain. By 2011, the Apranga Group intends to expand the franchise Inditex store chain to 50 in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The Apranga Group operates a chain of 81 stores in the Baltic States: 55 in Lithuania, 22 in Latvia, and 4 in Estonia. Total area of the stores owned by the Group reaches 50,000 square metres. This year, the Apranga Group opened or reconstructed 25 stores. In January - October 2007, the retail turnover of goods of the chain operated by the Apranga Group amounted to LTL 354.3 million (EUR 102.6 million), and grew by 48.5%, as compared to the same period of the previous year. Over ten months of this year, the turnover of the Apranga Group in Lithuania increased by 48.4%, in Latvia - 54.1%, in Estonia - 35.3%. In January - September 2007, the Group earned LTL 20.3 million (EUR 5.9 million) of unaudited profit before tax, o 51.4% more than during nine months of 2006. The company belongs to the concern MG Baltic. Rimantas Perveneckas Director General of Apranga Group +370 5 2390801 Irma Marcinkiene Marketing Director of Apranga Group +370 5 2390802