Finnish retail company Stockmann has announced that it’s selling its Delicatessen grocery stores in Finland to S Group.
S Group operates more than 1,600 retail outlets in Finland, a well as a number of regional cooperatives, and now aims to develop Stockmann’s six Delicatessen outlets into ‘top-level flagship stores’.
The deal is currently pending approval from the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority, but it is expected to be completed the end of 2017.
Strategic Partnership
Stockmann says that it has been looking for partners that complement the product mix at its department stores, so that it can expand its range of products and services.
“Stockmann Delicatessen is an institution and a key part of our department stores, now and in the future,” said Lauri Veijalainen, CEO of Stockmann.
“Changes in procurement and logistics operations in particular have affected Stockmann Delicatessen’s competitiveness and accelerated our search for a partner. We are confident that our customers will continue to have access to the best grocery store services in Finland.”
New Format
In the planned transaction, the Delicatessen stores in the centre of Hesinki, Tapiola, and in the Itis and Jumbo shopping centres will become S Group regional cooperatives.
All Delicatessen employees will transfer to S Group, and the stores will all remain in the Stockmann department stores. The retailer says that the stores will feature high quality products, but at a lower price.
© 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
