Country Life to close three Prague branches of its health food shops

Country life, which operates a chain of organic and health food stores in the Czech Republic, will close down three of its shops in Prague, company founder Otakar Jiránek has informed customers on social media.

The shops that will be closing are located in Prague's New Town, Karlín, and Břevnov districts. The closures will leave Country Life with five branches in Prague and two just outside of the Czech capital, in Rudná and Beroun.

The Karlín branch of Country Life has already been closed, while the stores in New Town and Břevnov will wind down operations during this month.

"Dear customers, due to ever-increasing costs, we are forced to take significant cost-saving measures. They also include the closure of three of our Prague stores - stores on Sokolovská in Karlín, Bělohorská in Břevnov, and Jungmannova Street in New Town," Jiránek writes on Facebook.

"We take this step with a heavy heart. We opened our first store in Melantrichova Street back in 1991. Since then, a number of other stores have joined our organic family, including our largest store in Dejvice in Prague 6 and a specialized natural cosmetics store in Liliová Street in Prague 1."

Country Life is Prague's largest chain of health food stores, and might have been the first to open in then-Czechoslovakia back in 1991. Since then, a number of other bio and organic stores have launched in Prague as Czech diets changed over the past thirty years.

Jiránek cited rising costs and a dip in customers resulting from residents leaving Prague's city center as the reason for closing the three branches, which represent thirty percent of Country Life's branches in the Czech Republic.

"In our more than thirty-year history, we have never been forced to proceed with such significant cuts and closures," he writes. "Not only did rising costs in all areas contribute to them, but also the outflow of customers from our kinds of stores and from the city center in general."

The founder welcomes potential customers to visit Country Life's other branches in Prague, as well as other health food stores across the country, which are facing the same economic difficulties.

"Thank you for continuing to buy our products and support us in this difficult time," he writes.

"We look forward to welcoming you to our other stores. You can also buy our products in organic food and health food stores throughout the country. These independent stores are facing the same problems as us. At the same time, they can offer a breadth of assortment that no chain store can compete with, as well as qualified staff who will be happy to advise you."

In addition to the two branches west of Prague, Country Life still operates its flagship store and vegan restaurant in Prague's city center on Melantrichova street, a nearby cosmetics shop on Liliová, a large branch in Dejvice, and shops in Letná on Korunovační street and Vinohrady on Francouzská street.

Country Life also operates an e-shop from its website, where customers can purchase most of its products including fresh-baked and refrigerated goods.