ROSH HAAYIN, Israel, September 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blue Square-Israel Ltd. (NYSE: BSI) (hereinafter: "Blue Square") announced that it was served with a claim and a request for approval as a class action (the "Claim"), in which Blue Square is being sued regarding the sale of cosmetics and perfume products without marking the expiry date or the allowed use period after its opening, as is allegedly obligatory according to the 15 amendment of the Pharmacists directive [new edition] 1981 which is in effect since July 1st 2009.

The Claim requests that Blue Square will return the purchase price to all customers who purchased such cosmetics and perfume products since July 1st 2009 or compensate them by paying the gross profit derived from those sales, along with additional compensation.

The plaintiff's personal claim is estimated by him at approx. NIS 175 and if the Claim is approved as a class action, the approximate claim is estimated by the plaintiff at least at NIS 13 million. In addition, the plaintiff requests that the court will issue an injunction forbidding the company from selling such products without the marked expiry date or the maximum allowed period for use after opening.

Blue Square is currently reviewing the Claim and denying all above allegations, however, at this preliminary stage of the proceedings, it is unable to evaluate its likelihood of success in the proceedings, including the likelihood that the Claim will be certified as a class action.

Blue Square-Israel Ltd. is a leading retailer in Israel. A pioneer of modern food retailing, in the region. Blue Square currently operates 202 supermarkets under different formats, each offering varying levels of services and prices. For more information, please refer to the Blue Square-Israel Ltd. website at http://www.bsi.co.il.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, plans or projections about our business and our future revenues, expenses and profitability. Forward-looking statements may be, but are not necessarily, identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," and words and terms of similar substance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events, results, performance, circumstance and achievements to be materially different from any future events, results, performance, circumstance and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following: our ability to compete effectively against low-priced supermarkets and other competitors; the effect of the recession in Israel on the sales in our stores and on our profitability; quarterly fluctuations in our operating results that may cause volatility of our ADS and share price; risks associated with our dependence on a limited number of key suppliers for products that we sell in our stores; the effect of an increase in minimum wage in Israel on our operating results; the effect of any actions taken by the Israeli Antitrust Authority on our ability to execute our business strategy and on our profitability; the effect of increases in oil, raw material and product prices in recent years; the effects of damage to our reputation or to the reputation to our store brands due to reports in the media or otherwise; and other risks, uncertainties and factors disclosed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, risks, uncertainties and factors identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except for our ongoing obligations to disclose material information under the applicable securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

    Contact:
    Blue Square-Israel Ltd.
    Elli Levinson-Sela
    General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
    Telephone: +972-3-9282670
    Fax: +972-3-9282498
    Email: ellils@bsi.co.il

SOURCE Blue Square Israel Ltd