Kesko Group Sees Grocery Sales Up 1.7% In July
In June, the grocery segment of Kesko, a Finnish retail group, achieved sales totaling €513.1 million, indicating a year-on-year growth of 1.7%.
Sales to K-food stores within the grocery division increased by 1.3%. Notably, K-Citymarket’s consumer goods store also recorded a rise in sales, as highlighted by the company.
Kespro, the company’s food service arm, reported a notable sales growth of 6.0%.
Moving to July, the overall sales generated by Kesko Group reached €908.8 million, representing a decrease of 1.3% compared to the same period last year. Kesko’s CEO, Mikko Helander, commented on the July sales trends, noting that the grocery trade witnessed an increase across all businesses during this period.
He also mentioned that the car trade experienced growth across all business areas. However, sales in the construction and building technology trade declined due to a weakening in construction activity.
In June, Kesko reported a 5.4% surge in sales within its grocery trade division, amounting to €581.1 million.
Concurrently, the total sales for the month increased by 1.3% year-on-year, reaching €1.1 billion.
Looking at Kesko Group’s other divisions, the construction and building technology trade unit recorded sales of €302.9 million, experiencing a decrease of 9.6% in local currencies.
Sales at hardware stores dropped by 9.9% on a comparable basis, and the building and technical wholesale unit Onninen saw its sales decline by 9.2% on a comparable basis.
By country, the sales in the business unit fell by 9.6% in Finland, 16.1% in Sweden, and 5.4% in Norway on a comparable basis. Reported sales within the construction and building technology trade decreased by 7.2%, according to the company’s report.
In the car trade segment, Kesko’s business generated sales of €94.4 million, reflecting a growth of 4% on a comparable basis. Notably, July saw a 16.2% increase in new passenger car registrations and an 11.5% rise in van registrations in Finland compared to the previous year, according to Kesko.
Additionally, according to the April K-Barometer survey conducted by K Group, around 28% of customers in Finland are choosing less healthy food options due to higher prices. This trend includes over a third (36%) of families with children.
