Growth in Scandinavia

Sales of €1.894 bn recorded from January to September by the builders’ merchant and DIY retail division of the Finnish Kesko Group were 6.0 per cent higher than for the same period last year. Sales in Finland saw an increase of 6.4 per cent to € 881 mio, and of 5.7 per cent abroad to € 1.013 bn (which amounts to 53.5 per cent of overall sales). However, foreign sales declined by 1.5 per cent when calculated in national currencies. Kesko puts a figure of seven per cent on general market growth in Finland, of four per cent in Norway and six per cent in Sweden. The group is assuming a decline of between 10 and 20 per cent in the Baltic states. It also reports that the building and DIY market in Russia has found its way back to growth again.