Kesko goes double-digit

The Finnish Kesko Group’s building materials and DIY retail division recorded sales of around € 580.2 mio in the first quarter of 2011, which is 15.3 per cent more than in the same period last year. The division’s increase in the Finnish market came to 11.9 per cent for a total of € 284.3 mio, while sales abroad saw a rise of 18.7 per cent to € 295.9 mio. The group’s stores in the Baltic states concluded the month of March with an increase of 9.1 per cent and the network of stores in Russia showed sales growth of 16.5 per cent (in national currency). A new K-rauta store is due to open tomorrow, 16 April 2011, in St Petersburg. It features a retail area of 6 500 m², 5 700 m² of which is heated, and an outdoor yard amounting to 2 000 m². The store is located in Primorsky, a new-build district where 5 000 homes are currently under construction. In Russia it is customary to sell homes prior to any interior finishing, which is then undertaken by the buyers themselves.