Finnish retail cooperative S Group has announced that total sales increased by 2.4%, to €8,342 million, in the first three quarters of the year.
In the nine months from January to September 2017, the group's supermarket banners, which include S-Market and Prisma, saw sales rise by 1.6% year on year, to €5,801 million.
S Group experienced sales growth in almost all of its business areas during this period, including service stations and fuel (+6.6%), tourism and hospitality (+1.7%), department stores and speciality stores (+1.2%), and other units (+9.4%).
However, the group's hardware-store business experienced a drop in sales, of 10.2%.
Continued Growth
"I am satisfied with the strong sales growth, especially in [the] ABC chain and Sokos department stores," said Taavi Heikkilä, CEO of SOK. "Our domestic grocery trade will continue to grow more rapidly in the market."
Heikkilä added that the group's sales are expected to continue increasing in the final quarter of the year, and the company anticipates that the Christmas season will be busier than last year.
© 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.
