Kesko : K-Group will take neighbourhood stores to a new era - refurbishment of K-Markets will change Finnish street scene

KESKO PRESS RELEASE 21.04.2016 AT 13.00 1(2)

The first K-Market stores will have a completely new, fresh and modern look in various parts of Finland this and next week. For this reform, we assessed the needs of Finnish consumers and drew influence from abroad. The new lively orange look stands out in the street scene and conveys freshness and quality with a casual touch. 

The refurbishment of the K-Market chain is proceeding fast, as all of the more than 400 K-Markets and about 600 Siwa and Valintatalo stores will adopt the new unified chain look. Stores with a new look will be visible in the street scene starting from April. The entire chain will be refurbished by the end of 2018.

"We have a strong belief in the growth of neighbourhood services. Social changes, such as the ageing of population, urbanisation and the decrease in family size contribute to this development. In the years to come, we will invest several tens of millions of euros in expanding and refurbishing our network of neighbourhood stores. These extensive reforms will take our neighbourhood stores to a new era and our objective is to double their customer numbers," says Jorma Rauhala, Kesko's Executive Vice President and Senior Vice President for grocery trade.

Finnish people want neighbourhood stores to serve as an extension to their fridges

The refurbishment of K-Markets is based on the objective to take neighbourhood retailing to the 2020s. The K-Market look is implementing the entire K-Group's new, more unified corporate identity. When planning the look, Finnish consumers' needs for daily grocery shopping were explored. Ideas for the store look were also sought from abroad.

"Finnish consumers wish that neighbourhood stores serve as an extension to their fridges, which means that shopping must be quick and easy while at the same time inspiring. The K sign on the roof is a promise of high quality of the food store. The new K-Market look is modern, casual and approachable," says Jesper Åberg, Vice President of the K-Market chain.

Every K-Market is different - representing local customers. The retailer creates the selection and services based on the particular store's customer data and listening to the customers' wishes. K-Market stores make towns and districts livelier across Finland.

"The surroundings give the final touch to the refurbishment of K-Markets. The extensive work also includes much else. Changes focus on aspects that are important to each particular store's customers, such as service, selection or quick and easy shopping," says Åberg.

The colour of the new look is lively orange

The new look is casual and approachable. The colour palette that is based on orange and red makes K-Markets stand out in the Finnish street scene. The light and orange palette is enriched by burgundy and berry red, which work well with food photos. A more casual look is created with rustic structured surface, for example, which is combined to drawings and photos of fruit and other fresh produce. The in-store signage font has been specially designed for K-Markets.

The new K-Market look will first be introduced on
21 April in K-Market Ruokapaletti, Mänttä
21 April in K-Market Kairatie, Rovaniemi

Also in April-May in

K-Market Kaunismäki, Mäntsälä
K-Market Jäkärlä, Turku
K-Market Karppala, Nurmijärvi
K-Market Albertin Herkku, Helsinki
K-Market Mestari, Tampere

Photos can be downloaded from http://aineistopankki.kesko.fi/kesko_en.

Further information
Jesper Åberg, Vice President, K-Market chain, Kesko's grocery trade division, tel. +358 10 532 8940

The K-Market chain will be the most comprehensive and service oriented neighbourhood store network, located near every Finnish consumer. These neighbourhood stores of the 2020s provide a fresh and wide selection, comprehensive services and a reliable, competitive price level, easily and quickly. All good is available nearby - www.k-market.fi.