Retail sales in Finland fell by 0.1% in March compared with the same month last year, according to the Finnish Grocery Trade Association.
Sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 1.7%, and consumer goods fell by 1.2%, however sales of alcohol and tobacco rose by 5.1%.
The trade association attributes this to the fact that Easter occurred in March last year, but took place in April this year.
Finnish Grocery retail
"The competition in the grocery trade is intense," said Kari Luoto, managing director of the Finnish Grocery Trade Association, adding that the only retailers to increase their sales in the first quarter of 2017 were the major supermarkets.
Overall, grocery sales in Finland grew by 0.1% in from January to March, compared with the same period last year, with large supermarkets experiencing an increase of 3%.
However, sales in supermarkets fell by 2.6%, in hypermarkets by 0.8%, and small retailers experienced the largest decrease of 5.1%.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
