NEW IITTALA STORES IN LONDON, HAMBURG, STOCKHOLM
Fiskars Corporation Press Release December 19, 2007 at 10.30 am.
NEW IITTALA STORES IN LONDON, HAMBURG, STOCKHOLM
The strong international expansion of Iittala, which is part of the Fiskars
Corporation, continues according to plan. A flagship store opens in London this
week, following the openings of Iittala stores in Hamburg and Stockholm in the
fall of 2007. Also, during the fall, Iittala announced that its retailers in
Japan and London have opened new Iittala departments.
The new flagship store at 126 Regent Street, London W1, is in one of the city's
most lively and prestigious shopping areas. Occupying 120 square meters, the
store offers consumers a full range of Iittala products displayed to show how
well they can be mixed and matched. This flagship store in London's West End has
the potential to add a further 100 square meters of display space should it wish
to do so in the future. Mr. Tero Vähäkylä, CEO of the Iittala Group, is very
pleased with the location of the London store: “Regent Street is one of the
liveliest shopping streets in the world,” he says. “We believe having the
Iittala store here will help us make the entire Iittala range better known, even
outside Britain.”
At the end of November, Iittala opened a store in Hamburg. It is the company's
first stand alone store in Germany, and is located in the exclusive Barkhof
Passage arcade of central Hamburg. The Iittala store that opened in Stockholm in
early December is also in the heart of the city, in the highly popular
Grevturegatan, just off the traditional shopping street Biblioteksgatan.
Two-fold strategy
The Iittala Group's distribution strategy is built on a two-fold brand strategy.
In the company's home markets of Finland, Sweden, and Norway various
distribution channels are used for a number of their branded products.
Best-known among these brands are Arabia, Iittala, Hackman, Rörstrand, BodaNova,
and Höganäs Keramik.
In the international market, the company focuses on selling its Iittala
product range primarily through the company's own Iittala stores. Iittala's own
retail concept was launched in 2003, and in 2006 the concept was chosen as one
of the
nominees for MAPIC Awards which pay tribute to the most dynamic international
retailers. After the London opening, Iittala will have 30 concept stores, seven
of which are in Finland. In Europe, including the United Kingdom, and Japan,
retailers provide a further 50 Iittala departments of various sizes.
The new stores strengthen Iittala's position as the leading Scandinavian design
company, particularly in the growing markets of Central Europe and the UK.
Leena Kahila-Bergh
Vice President, Corporate Communications
For more information, please contact:
Elina Björklund, Group Director, Iittala Direct Retail, mob +358 40 557 4022
Founded in 1649, Fiskars (www.fiskars.fi) is an international corporation which
includes the subsidiaries Fiskars Brands, Iittala Group, Inha Works, and the
Real Estate Group. Fiskars holdings in associated company Wärtsilä is also an
important part of Fiskars Corporation. In 2006, the net sales of Fiskars
Corporation was EUR 535 million, its operating profit EUR 86 million. The
Corporation employed some 3,000 people around the world.