Kesko
 | |
| Public (OMX: KESBV) | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Finland |
Key people | Mikko Helander (President and CEO), Esa Kiiskinen (Chairman) |
| Services | Supermarkets and hypermarkets, hardware retail, auto sales, department stores, consumer durables, agricultural supplies |
| Revenue | €9.315 billion (2013)[1] |
| €248 million (2013)[1] | |
| Profit | €185 million (2013)[1] |
Number of employees | 19,489 (average, 2013)[1] |
| Slogan | For shopping to be a fun |
| Website | www.kesko.fi |
Kesko Corporation (Finnish: Kesko Oyj[2]) is a Finnish retailing conglomerate with its head office in Katajanokka, Helsinki.[3] It is engaged in the food trade, the home and specialty goods trade, the building and home improvement trade, and the car and machinery trade. It also has subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus.
Business purpose
The key focus areas in Kesko's business operations are to strengthen sales growth and the return on capital in all divisions, to exploit business opportunities in e-commerce and in Russia, and to maintain good solvency and dividend payment capacity.
History
Kesko was formed when four regional wholesaling companies that had been founded by retailers were merged in October 1940.
The new Kesko company started operating at the beginning of 1941. The need to purchase goods for the shareholder-retailers and to support their business operations and start cooperation among them resulted in the forming of the K-retailer group.
By the end of the 1940s, Kesko's sales amounted to about 15 billion old Finnish markkas (equivalent to EUR 580 million in 2010), which was about 12% of the overall sales of the central companies operating in the Finnish trading sector.
Divisions
Food trade
Kesko Food is a key operator in the Finnish grocery trade. Kesko Food's main functions include the centralised purchasing of products, selection management, logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.
Kesko Food manages the K-food store chains, which are K-market, K-supermarket, K-citymarket and K-extra. There were 937 K-food stores in Finland in 2012. The K-food store network is comprehensive in Finland and approximately 50% of Finns live less than a kilometre away from a K-food store.
Formerly Kesko called these four size-grades of their shops K (small shop), KK (middle-sized shop), KKK (big shop), and KKKK (very big shop),[4] but this naming system has been changed.
Kesko Food's private brands include Pirkka and Euro Shopper.
The main competitors are Prisma, S-market and Alepa/Sale of S Group, Valintatalo, Siwa and Euromarket of Suomen Lähikauppa Oy, M chain stores, and Lidl.
Kesko Food’s subsidiary Kespro is the leading wholesaler in the Finnish HoReCa business.
Home and specialty good trade
The home and specialty goods trade comprises Anttila and Kodin Ykkönen, K-citymarket's home and speciality goods, Intersport Finland, Indoor's Asko and Sotka, Musta Pörssi and Kenkäkesko.
Kesko's home and specialty goods trade operates in the clothing, home, sports, leisure, home technology, entertainment and furniture product lines.
The most widely recognised chains 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 sell electronics and household appliances.
- Kookenkä and Andiamo, which are shoe retailers.
Building and home improvement trade
Rautakesko is an international service provider which retails building, renovation and home improvement supplies in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus.
Rautakesko manages and develops the K-rauta, Rautia, K-maatalous, Byggmakker, Senukai and OMA retail chains and B2B sales in its operating area.
Rautakesko's main functions include the centralised development of chain selections, centralised purchasing and logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.
All stores in Finland are owned by retailer entrepreneurs. There are also approximately 100 retailer-owned stores in Norway. Rautakesko's international business model combines the category management, purchasing, logistics, information system control and network improvements of the company's chains which operate in different countries.
Car and machinery trade
The car and machinery trade segment consists of VV-Auto and Konekesko with their subsidiaries.
- VV-Auto imports and markets Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT passenger cars, and Volkswagen commercial vehicles in Finland, and it also imports and markets Seat passenger cars in Estonia and Latvia. VV-Auto is also engaged in car retailing and provides after-sales services at its own outlets in the Greater Helsinki area and Turku.
- Konekesko is a service company specialising in the import, marketing and after-sales services of recreational machinery, construction and materials handling machinery, agricultural machinery, and buses and trucks. Konekesko operates in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Konekesko arranges the manufacture of and sells Yamarin boats in Finland and exports them to several European countries and Russia.
VV-Auto and Konekesko represent the leading brands in their market area and are responsible for the sales and after-sales services of these brands either through their own or dealer network. The dealer network is complemented by a network of contract service centres.
Market share and competitors
In 2014, Kesko's market share in food trade in Finland was 33.1% (Nielsen).
Kesko's competitors in food trade are Prisma, S-market and Alepa/Sale of S Group (45.7%), Lidl (7.6%) Valintatalo, Siwa and Euromarket of Suomen Lähikauppa Oy (6.8%) and M chain stores (Nielsen).
Sustainability
For Kesko, their responsible operation is a strategic choice and bearing our corporate responsibility is one of Kesko's values.
Kesko's vision of corporate responsibility: In all areas of responsibility, we are one of the trading sector pioneers on a global scale.
Responsibility is part of our day-to-day work. Our operations are largely defined by the general principles of Kesko's corporate responsibility, and the guidelines 'Our Responsible Working Principles'.
As necessary, we define responsibility policies and make stands and statements to support our operations.
Read more at http://www.kesko.fi/en/Responsibility/
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Annual Results 2013" (PDF). Kesko. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
- ↑ "Yhteystiedot." Kesko. Retrieved on 28 September 2012. "Satamakatu 3, 00160 Helsinki"
- ↑ "Contacts." Kesko. Retrieved on 28 September 2012. "Satamakatu 3"
- ↑ http://www.finlandforthought.net/2010/06/21/which-finnish-grocery-store-should-i-choose/
