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Native name | Finnish:Kesko Oyj Swedish:Kesko Abp |
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| Company type | Julkinen osakeyhtiö |
| Nasdaq Helsinki: KESKOB | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1940; 85 years ago (1940) |
| Headquarters | , Finland |
Key people | Jorma Rauhala(President andCEO), Esa Kiiskinen(Chairman) |
| Services | Supermarkets andhypermarkets,hardware retail,auto sales,department stores,consumer durables |
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Number of employees | 22,476 (average, 2016) |
| Website | www.kesko.fi |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
Kesko Corporation (Finnish:Kesko Oyj,Swedish:Kesko Abp) is aFinnishretailingconglomerate with its head office inKalasatama,Helsinki.[3] It is engaged in the grocery trade,building and technical trade, andcar trade. It also has operations inSweden,Norway,Denmark,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania, andPoland.
Kesko was formed when four regionalwholesalingcompanies that had been founded by retailers were merged in October 1940.[4]
The new Keskocompany started operating at the beginning of 1941. The need to purchase goods for theshareholder-retailers and to support their business operations and startcooperation 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 oldFinnish 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.
Kesko's grocery trade division is a key operator in the Finnishgrocery trade. The division's main functions include the centralisedpurchasing ofproducts, selection management,logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.
The division's grocerystore chains are K-Market,K-Supermarket andK-Citymarket. In 2021, the chains comprised 1,200 grocery stores, run by some 1,000 independent K-retailers. Over 500 of the stores also offered online grocery sales services.[5] 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), KK (middle-sized), KKK (large), and KKKK (largest),[6] and the chain names were K Extra, K Lähikauppa (= "local shop"), KK Market, KKK Supermarket and KKKK Citymarket; but this naming system has been changed.
Kesko's groceryprivate brands includePirkka, Pirkka Parhaat and K-menu.
The main competitors arePrisma, S-market andAlepa/Sale of S Group,M chain stores, andLidl.
Kesko company Kespro is the leadingwholesaler in the FinnishHoReCa business.
Kesko also used to have smallconvenience stores, cafes and restaurants which operated at staffedservice stations ofNeste oil corporation. These service station facilities were branded as Neste K. The convenience stores were virtually always found in Neste K station, while whether the station has a cafe or restaurant depended on the size and location of the station. Cafes were branded as Koon Kahvila and restaurants as Koon Keittiö. Kesko discontinued the Neste K stores in 2024 and they are currently operated solely by Neste.
K-citymarket's home andspeciality goods trade is part of the grocery trade division.
Kesko's building and technical trade division operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Its chains areOnninen, which serves technical professionals, and K-Rauta, Byggmakker and K-Bygg, which serve both professional builders and consumers.
The division's main functions include the centralised development of chain selections, centralised purchasing and logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.
K-Rauta and Intersport stores in Finland are operated by retailer entrepreneurs. The internationalbusiness model combines the category management, purchasing, logistics,information system control and network improvements of the company's chains which operate in different countries.
The car trade segment consists ofK-Auto (formerly operated as VV-Auto).
K-Auto represents the leadingbrands in their market area and are responsible for the sales and after-sales services of these brands either through their own ordealer network. The dealer network is complemented by a network of contract service centres.
The division also comprises leisure trade and the chainsIntersport and Budget Sport.
In 2014, Kesko's market share in food trade in Finland was 33.1% (Nielsen). At that point, Kesko's competitors in food trade in 2014 wereS Group (45.7%),Lidl (7.6%),Suomen Lähikauppa (6.8%), and M chain stores (Nielsen). Kesko later acquired Suomen Lähikauppa in 2016 and the deal increased Kesko's share of the market to about estimated 40%.[7]
In 2019 Nielsen report, Kesko's market share in grocery trade was estimated to be 36.5%.[8]
In April 2016 Kesko completed the acquisition of a competitor Suomen Lähikauppa's stores. In the deal, Kesko acquired all the Valintatalo and Siwa stores. However theFinnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved the acquisition with a condition that Kesko must sell at least 60 of the stores to competitors. All the Siwas and Valintatalos have been rebranded as K-Market stores as of 2017.[9] The total number of stores owned by Suomen Lähikauppa before the acquisition was 643 and it employed 4100 employees.[10] In the same acquisition Kesko also was initially obligated to keep using Tuko Logistics Cooperative as the main supplier for the bought stores for 18 months, but FCCA later revoked this decision on appeal.[11]
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