ESTONIA'S LARGEST K-RAUTA STORE OPENED AT HAABERSTI, TALLINN

A new K-rauta store – the largest hardware and builders' supplies store in Estonia – has been opened at Haabersti, Tallinn. There are now three K-rauta stores in Estonia. It has also been decided that the two stores currently operating under the Ehitusmaailm sign will be transformed into K-rauta stores. The new K-rauta has 8,000 square metres of sales area and a selection of 20,000 products. Its construction costs totalled around 5.6 million euros.

All of Rautakesko's stores operating in Estonia will adopt the K-rauta name and sign. These changes are to widen the product ranges, to improve the quality of goods and services and to keep the prices as low as possible. As a result of the name change, all prices in the Estonian K-rauta stores will drop by about 10%.

According to Peeter Raudsepp, Chairman of the Estonian Rautakesko AS Board, Rautakesko has reached a phase of stable development and does not expect a fast expansion. However, there is a plan to build two new K-rauta stores in Estonia in the near future – one in Tallinn and the other in north-eastern Estonia. According to Raudsepp, K-rauta's current market share in Estonia is around 20%, which they aim to increase to 30% in the next couple of years.

Today there are 45 K-rauta stores in Finland, 11 in Sweden, 3 in Estonia and 1 in Latvia. Moreover, Rautakesko Ltd has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a majority holding in UAB Senuku Prekybos Centras, Lithuania's biggest hardware company, which is the largest hardware store chain in the whole of the Baltic region. Rautakesko's strategic target is to become the market leader in the Nordic and the Baltic countries.

Further information:
Rautakesko Ltd, Executive Vice President Simo Manner,
tel. +358 500 407 455
Peeter Raudsepp, Managing Director, Rautakesko AS,
tel. +372 6 257540.