All of the 457 K-markets will be revamped from the floor to the ceiling in the most extensive store refurbishment operation ever implemented in Finland. The chain's areas of emphasis will be local services, freshly baked bread, a varied selection of prepared foods and a comprehensive selection of fruit and vegetables.
The refurbishing is aimed to boost the good sales rise of Kesko Food's neighbourhood stores and to highlight the K-market chain's strengths.
"Customers clearly value the services offered by the neighbourhood stores. This can be seen in the K-market chain's sales figures for the last two years showing more than ten per cent increases. Our strength is in the extensive store network in which neighbourhood stores play an important part. Another important contributor to our strength is the K-retailer, who answers for customer service and the operations of the whole store. This business system enables our stores to perfectly respond to customers' local needs, in terms of both selections and services," says Terho Kalliokoski, the Kesko Food President.
Significant impact on selections
"The K-market will become the best place in the area to buy freshly baked bread, because the wide variety of local bakeries' breads will be available there. A strong emphasis will also be placed on the fruit and vegetable selection. In addition, our service counter will offer ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook meals with no compromise on taste. The offering will range from in-store baked pizzas to salad bar delicacies," says Ari Svensk, the K-market chain Vice President.
Customers will notice the difference in new services and a completely new look.
"We will take a strong foothold as local service centres in each area. This means comprehensive postal and lottery services, and possibly others needed by local customers. Various special events will be used to attract local people. The K-retailer will become a more visible figure than before and will welcome both bricks and bouquets. All this will make the store look like its customers," says Svensk.
The revamping was piloted in 2007 and now it has got off to a good start. The whole operation is planned for completion by the end of 2009.
Photos of new K-markets can be downloaded from http://materialbank.kesko.fi (Current topics).
Further information:
Ari Svensk, Vice President, K-market, tel. +358 1053 22080
Ari Svensk, Vice President, K-market, tel. +358 1053 22080
Olli Runokangas, K-retailer, Chairman of the K-market Executive Committee, K-market Pacius, tel. +358 9 477 0090
K-market is a high-quality and reliable food store near customers. In addition to the good basic selections, K-markets offer customers freshly baked local bread, high-quality fruit and vegetables, versatile ready-to-eat food choices and the best local services. K-market retailers and their staff ensure friendly service. Many service stations also have a K-market on their premises. The customer promise is "The retailer takes care of it". There are 457 K-markets.
Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a Finnish retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers through valued products and services at competitive prices. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Russia.