Kesko Oyj : Village shop day was bathed in sunshine

Main picture: Vanessa Riki / K-Market East Pakila

The K-Market chain extends from Hanko in the south to Nuorgam in the far north and is by far the largest chain of stores in Finland. K-stores offer many everyday convenience services such as parcel and postal services and the possibility to withdraw cash. For many people, a store is also an important meeting point in their daily life.

'Modern village shops are also found in urban communities in city centres, K-Market keeps the local communities and urban centres vibrant by offering a range of goods based on local customer wishes, employing young people and supporting local producers and entrepreneurs,' says Jesper Åberg, Vice President for the K-Market chain.

The significance of Village Shop Day is that it reminds us of the importance of local services. It is organised by the Grocery Trade Association and its members was held today for the sixth time.

K-Market Iso-Kappa, Helsinki

Tommi Kaipainen welcomes customers at Kannelmäkeläinen's Iso-Kappa K-Market on Village Shop Day. Iso-Kappa entertained young and old customers by setting up a bouncy castle and getting HJK's juniors to grill sausages. (Photo: Vanessa Riki)

K-Market Lahela, Tuusula

In Tuusula, K-Market Lahela was full of merriment on Village Shop Day. The weather was grand and, amongst other foods on offer, vendace from Puruvesi was given out and praised as being better than that on offer at Market Square.

'We also collected goods for Tuusula's Brother Christmas, which sends the goods on to families with children and the elderly; I laid the base and the customers were really generous in adding to that. We got together as a small village for a long time,' says retailer Sari Karinkanta.

K-Market Loukinainen, Lieto

Lasse and Kaisa Anttila, who run three K-Markets in Lieto and Halinen, organised events at the K-Markets in Loukinainen and Ilmarinen.

'It was bustling with activity! In Loukinainen the children were excited about the horse riding, Carlo Carvazo's clown show, face painting and the hug-dogs (Bernese mountain dogs). The adults gathered to chat over coffee and looked for bargains at the flea market. Inside the store, customers were able taste locally made salads from the Dele Verde greenhouse and the sugar-free apple-lemonade juice as well as other juices of Bornemannin Mehustamo (Bornemann's Fruit Press),' says Kaisa Anttila.

K-Market Taateli, Tarvasjoki

The programme at Tarvasjoki's K-Market Taateli included traditional Finnish coffee and doughnuts and face painting. 'We also donated the library's surplus books to customers for their summer reading. Tarvasjoki's own music group band created a great summer feeling with their songs and the sun burned all day,' says retailer Jukka Juhajoki.

K-Market Savitaipale

'The atmosphere at the Savitaipale was very relaxed and mellow. The Kirkonkylä Martha organisation served over 400 cups of coffee. The rescue services presented their equipment on the forecourt and even I got to try how it feels to sit behind the wheel of a fire engine,' says Saija Kiiski who runs Savitaipele's K-Market.

K-Market Karhitie, Hämeenlinna

Village Shop Day was also a success in Hämeenlinna at K-Market Karhitie. In addition to coffee, guests were served juice made by a local berry producer and meatballs. The day contained many activities, including a horseshoe throwing competition, which, according to Kimmo Itäaho, proved to be very challenging.

Amongst the fun and food, Kimmo told us, 'We also collected donations from our customers for the hospice, gathering three sacks of items, two of which came from customers and one from the store. We have received a lot of feedback about how we have already reinvigorated the area with our events.'