Kesko

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Kesko Oyj
Type	Public
Founded	1940
Headquarters	Helsinki, Finland
Key people	Matti Halmesmäki (CEO and President), Heikki Takamäki (Chairman of the board)
Industry	Retail
Products	Groceries, hardware, consumer durables.
Employees	17,500
Website	http://www.kesko.com/

Kesko is a Finnish retailing conglomerate. It operates, among other things, in the Finnish markets for groceries, DIY and interior design products, agricultural supplies and machinery, consumer durables, and car sales. It also has subsidiaries in other countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Russia.

Kesko's loyalty card is called Plussa. Its closest competitor is the S-Group, which operates in almost the same fields as Kesko.

[edit] Ruokakesko (groceries)

Ruokakesko (literally 'food Kesko') is Kesko's affiliate business in the groceries market. This is the most important field of Kesko's operations, with Ruokakesko generating more than fifty per cent of Kesko's annual sales. It is currently the market leader in groceries, with a market share of about 35 %. Ruokakesko operates approximately 1100 grocery stores in five differentiated chains, often collectively referred to with the popular term K-kauppa. The "K-kaupat" signify their size and product diversity by using the letter K the same way as restaurants use stars for quality:

• K-extra - a chain of small shops, mainly in the countryside, focussing on providing only the most commonly needed everyday goods along with good service. These often provide other services as well, such as betting and representing Posti, the Finnish post office. There are currently a bit under 300 K-extra stores in Finland.
• K-pikkolo (former K-lähikauppa) - small shops operating in city centres and at Neste service stations, with a small selection of goods and extended opening hours. There about seventy K-pikkolo shops in Finland. As of February 2006, this concept is being terminated due to unsatisfactory performance. Most stores are transformed into K-Markets, with non-profitable stores being closed altogether.
• K-market - these are medium-sized grocery stores, located in city centres and major suburbs. This is the largest of Ruokakesko's chains, with over 370 outlets in the country.
• K-supermarket - a chain of larger supermarkets, with a good selection of items. There are 150 of these shops, located usually just outside city centres and in large suburbs.
• K-citymarket - huge hypermarkets with a surface area of around 10 000 square metres. About 50 of these, in major cities.

market place in Mikkeli town centre, K-supermarket in left background, see K sign on roof, May 2000

Ruokakesko has also lately started operating the no-frills Cassa grocery stores to compete with Lidl, which has recently entered the Finnish market. Ruokakesko's private brands include Pirkka, Euro Shopper, Costa Rica (coffee), and Rico (fruit & vegetables).

Ruokakesko owns, together with the Swedish ICA Group, the Rimi Baltic group, which operates supermarkets and no-frills stores in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The company's market share in the three countries is approximately 15%, and it operates the Rimi chain for supermarkets, and the Säästumarket and SuperNetto chains for no-frills retail in Estonia and Latvia respectively.

[edit] Rautakesko (hardware)

Rautakesko (or 'iron Kesko') works in the hardware industry, selling building and DIY supplies. It is the market leader in Finland, with a market share of about 35%, and operates nearly 150 shops in the K-rauta and Rautia chains. Rautakesko's activities constitute about 15% of Kesko's total sales.

Rautakesko also operates in Estonia (where it has four shops and is the market leader), Sweden, Latvia and Russia. It also owns the controlling interest in the Lithuanian market leader UAB Senuku Prekybos centras.

[edit] Maatalouskesko (agriculture)

Maatalouskesko ('agriculture Kesko') sells supplies and machinery for agricultural producers in its hundred stores in Finland. It also has subsidiaries in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Maatalouskesko generates ten per cent of Kesko's total sales.

[edit] Keswell (consumer durables)

Keswell operates several different chains in different sections of the market for consumer durables. It constitutes ten per cent of Kesko's total sales. The most widely recognised chains operated by Keswell are:

• Anttila, which sells general consumer durables.
  • Kodin Ykkönen, a subsidiary of Anttila, specialises in interior design.
• Intersport, the Finnish market leader in sports equipment.
• Musta Pörssi, which sells electronics and household appliances.
• K-Kenkä and Andiamo are Keswell's shoe retailers.

[edit] VV-Auto

VV-Auto is the business selling Volkswagen, Audi, and Seat cars in Finland. It has shops in Helsinki and Turku.

[edit] External links

• Kesko Oyj - The corporate website.
• Pirkka - Pirkka website.
• Plussa - Loyalty card Plussa's website