Finland-based retailer Kesko has opened its first food store in Russia in the city of St Petersburg.
Kesko said the opening is part of its strategy to open four large food stores in the St Petersburg region by the end of 2013. The retailer said it plans to continue to expand in the region and later in Moscow, with the aim of achieving “sales of EUR500m (US$645.7m) and a positive result” by 2017.
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Kesko Food’s president Terho Kalliokoski said the initiation of its K-Ruoka business operations in Russia has “proceeded as planned”.
“Many people in St Petersburg are familiar with the K-symbol, which stands for Finnish origins and quality,” he said. “The store focuses on high-quality fruit and vegetables, bread and extensive service counters for meat, fish and prepared foods, plus an in-store scratch bakery.”
Kesko also operates 14 K-Rauta stores and 31 Intersport stores in Russia.
The store has a sales area of around 5,000sq m, and according to Kari Heiskanen, Kesko’s VP for store site operations in Russia, the presence of its existing store chains in Russia “allows resources to be centralised and efficiency of operations” when acquiring and building store sites.
Kesko operates around 2,000 stores across Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Belarus.
In addition to the first K-Ruoka store, Kesko has 14 K-rauta hardware stores and 31 Intersport stores in Russia.
