Rimi pulls children's game console that played Russian anthem from sale
Retailer Rimi has withdrawn a children's game console that played the Russian anthem when a game was selected, in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. A resident of Jelgava reported it to the TV programme "Bez Tabu".
The Rimi retail chain has pulled a children's toy game console from sale in all three Baltic states after it was found to play the Russian Federation anthem whenever a game was being chosen. The decision followed a tip to the television programme "Bez Tabu" from a resident of Jelgava, a city in Latvia. Rimi said such a product does not match the company's values.
How it came to light
The Jelgava resident told the programme that the toy was on shop shelves and asked it to find out how it had reached the market. The production team found the console in one of Rimi's stores in Riga and the reporter confirmed that the device does play the melody. People randomly approached on the street also recognised it. Journalist Artūrs Špaks said on hearing the anthem: "I feel sick right away."
Responses from manufacturer and retailer
The programme contacted the toy's maker, Toi-Toys, a company based in the Netherlands. Its management said another customer had already made a similar complaint. Company representatives acknowledged that neither their staff nor the Chinese manufacturers had initially recognised the melody, and stressed that using the Russian anthem was not a deliberate choice. After the complaint, the company requested explanations from the producer and began measures to prevent a repeat.
Rimi explained that the console reached its stores through an Estonian supplier and was distributed across all three Baltic countries. It was in the range for about three weeks. Representatives of the retailer admitted that not all melodies and games included in toys are separately checked before they go on sale.
Number of consoles sold
Over three weeks, Rimi stores in Latvia sold 19 such consoles, while about 40 were sold across the Baltic states in total. After the programme approached the retailer, the console was removed from sale in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
