K Group’s market share in Finnish grocery up to 36.1% – comparable sales growth the best in business
K Group’s market share in Finnish grocery up to 36.1% – comparable sales growth the best in business
25.03.2019
K Group’s share of the Finnish grocery trade market totalled 36.1% in 2018, representing a growth of 0.3 percentage points on the year before. K Group has the most extensive grocery store network in Finland with 1,200 stores. Sales for the existing store network of the past two years have outshined the competition, according to Nielsen’s Grocery Shop Directory published on 22 March.
According to Nielsen’s Grocery Shop Directory, the market share for K Group’s grocery stores grew by 0.3 percentage points in 2018, amounting 36.1%. Nielsen measures the grocery trade market as a whole that covers the sales of stores and online stores selling groceries.
“Our strong transformation efforts boosted the growth in our market share in 2018. The key to everything is addressing local customer needs: we are able do this thanks to K-retailers, who know their area and their customers. We are constantly changing and improving store selections and services based on local needs and customer wishes. All K-food stores offer extensive selections, and focus especially on fresh food departments and service counters. They also provide ample selections of organic and locally produced products,” says Ari Akseli, President of K Group’s grocery trade division.
2018 was a particularly successful year for the K-Supermarket chain, where sales growth was the strongest of all store chains, according to Nielsen. The sales of K-Citymarket also grew considerably compared to 2017.
“I would also like to emphasise our excellent long-term overall performance: if we look at the sales development of our existing store network of the past two years, according to the Directory, K Group has fared the best out of all store groups,” notes Akseli.
Online grocery sales growing – K Group continues to invest in online operations and store network
According to Nielsen’s Grocery Shop Directory, online sales grew nearly 1.5-fold on the previous year.
“We at K Group have also witnessed the growing popularity of online grocery shopping. As we noted at the beginning of this year, our online grocery sales grew at an annual pace of over 70% in 2018. Online customer numbers have doubled and customer satisfaction is high,” says Akseli.
Akseli notes that alongside online operations, K Group has made determined efforts to reshape its store site network, which is now the widest and most comprehensive in Finland:
“The acquisition of Suomen Lähikauppa was a success, and it has made K Group the undisputed leader in the neighbourhood market. We will continue to expand our store network also in 2019.”
K Group has also significantly revamped the look and selections of its existing stores: 1,100 stores so far have been remodelled, and the rest should follow before the end of the year.
“All this good progress has, of course, been inspired by our customers, and we wish to thank them. When looking back at 2018, we are especially pleased with the growth in customer numbers and customer satisfaction, which prove that we are focusing on the right things. We will continue our work to offer even better grocery stores,” says Akseli.
K-food store numbers on 1 January 2019 according to Nielsen (comparison figures 1 Jan. 2018)
K-food stores, total: 1,256 (1,284)
K-Citymarket: 81 (81)
K-Supermarket: 244 (235)
K-Market 784 (814)
Neste K: 71 (71)
Other: 76 (83)
NB. Due to the inclusion of new markets in 2016, the 2017 and 2018 Nielsen market share figures are not comparable with the previous years’ figures.