Kesko Oyj

Type	Julkinen osakeyhtiö (OMX: KESBV)
Industry	Retail
Founded	1940
Headquarters	Helsinki, Finland
Key people	Matti Halmesmäki (President and CEO), Heikki Takamäki (Chairman)
Services	Supermarkets and hypermarkets, hardware retail, auto sales, department stores, consumer durables, agricultural supplies
Revenue	€8.777 billion (2010)[1]
Operating income	€307 million (2010)[1]
Profit	€205 million (2010)[1]
Total assets	€4.177 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity	€2.210 billion (end 2010)[1]
Employees	18,215 (average, 2010)[1]
Website	www.kesko.fi

  Kesko headquarters in Katajanokka, Helsinki, Finland

Kesko is a Finnish retailing conglomerate. It is engaged in the food trade, the home and specialty goods trade, the building and home improvement trade, and the car and machinery trade. It also has subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Belarus.

  History

Kesko was formed when four regional wholesaling companies that had been founded by retailers were merged in October 1940.

The new Kesko company started operating at the beginning of 1941. The need to purchase goods for the shareholder-retailers and to support their business operations and start cooperation 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 old Finnish 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.

  Divisions

  Food trade

Kesko Food is the leading operator in the Finnish grocery trade. Kesko Food's main functions include the centralised purchasing of products, selection management, logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.

Kesko Food manages the K-food store chains, which are K-citymarket, K-supermarket, K-market and K-extra. There were 1,007 K-food stores in Finland in 2010. The K-food store network is the most comprehensive in Finland and 51% of Finns live less than a kilometre away from a K-food store.

Kesko Food's private brands include Pirkka and Euro Shopper.

Kesko Food’s subsidiary Kespro is the leading wholesaler in the Finnish HoReCa business.

  Home and specialty good trade

The home and specialty goods trade comprises Anttila and Kodin Ykkönen, K-citymarket's home and speciality goods, Intersport Finland, Indoor's Asko and Sotka, Musta Pörssi and Kenkäkesko.

Kesko's home and specialty goods trade operates in the clothing, home, sports, leisure, home technology, entertainment and furniture product lines.

The most widely recognised chains are:

• Anttila, which sells general consumer durables.
• Kodin Ykkönen, a subsidiary of Anttila, specialises in interior design.
• Intersport, the Finnish market leader in sports equipment.
• Musta Pörssi and Konebox, which sell electronics and household appliances.
• K-Kenkä and Andiamo, which are shoe retailers.

  Building and home improvement trade

Rautakesko is an international service provider which retails building, renovation and home improvement supplies in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus.

Rautakesko manages and develops the K-rauta, Rautia, K-maatalous, Byggmakker, Senukai and OMA retail chains and B2B sales in its operating area.

Rautakesko's main functions include the centralised development of chain selections, centralised purchasing and logistics, and the development of chain concepts and the store network.

All stores in Finland are owned by retailer entrepreneurs. There are also approximately 100 retailer-owned stores in Norway. Rautakesko's international business model combines the category management, purchasing, logistics, information system control and network improvements of the company's chains which operate in different countries.

  Car and machinery trade

The car and machinery trade segment consists of VV-Auto and Konekesko with their subsidiaries.

• VV-Auto imports and markets Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT passenger cars, and Volkswagen commercial vehicles in Finland, and it also imports and markets Seat passenger cars in Estonia and Latvia. VV-Auto is also engaged in car retailing and provides after-sales services at its own outlets in the Greater Helsinki area and Turku.
• Konekesko is a service company specialising in the import, marketing and after-sales services of recreational machinery, construction and materials handling machinery, agricultural machinery, and buses and trucks. Konekesko operates in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Konekesko arranges the manufacture of and sells Yamarin boats in Finland and exports them to several European countries and Russia.

VV-Auto and Konekesko represent the leading brands in their market area and are responsible for the sales and after-sales services of these brands either through their own or dealer network. The dealer network is complemented by a network of contract service centres.

  References

  External links

• Official website

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