Kesko continues to grow its grocery store site network, opening new K-Citymarket hypermarkets in Kuopio and Lempäälä

Kesko continues to grow and update its network of grocery store sites in line with its growth strategy by opening new K-Citymarket hypermarket stores in Haapaniemi, Kuopio and the Ideapark shopping centre in Lempäälä near Tampere. The sales of Kesko’s K-Citymarket hypermarkets have been growing significantly, and the hypermarkets have a crucial impact on the profitability and market share of Kesko’s grocery store business.

“We continue to update and strengthen our network of store sites. The hypermarket stores Kesko is set to open in the next couple of years will have a significant role in strengthening our market share and further growing our sales,” says Ari Akseli, President of Kesko’s grocery trade division.

“Kesko purchased the plot in Haapaniemi, Kuopio back in 2007. The store will be located next to main roads near Kuopio city centre in a fast developing and growing area, with a potential customer base of some 50,000 people,” says Akseli.

The new hypermarket will total 12,000 square metres in size, with food and home and speciality goods departments and front-of-store shops. It will offer nearly 500 customer parking spaces. The building permit is currently being processed, and Kesko aims to open the store in early 2026.

"We are happy to be able to expand our network of K-Citymarket stores also to Lempäälä, a developing area and a busy transport hub. Ideapark has been developing its operations efficiently, attracting customers from nearby areas and even further away. It is also a significant tourist attraction, and a perfect location for growing our store network. We believe that a new hypermarket will increase the appeal of the whole shopping centre,” says Akseli.

The new K-Citymarket store will be located in an extension to be built in the shopping centre, and will be some 7,000 square metres in size, housing both food and home and speciality items. Construction will begin this year, and the store is expected to open in 2025.

Kesko has previously announced that it will build a new K-Citymarket store in Kivistö, Vantaa, and expand the K-Supermarket store in Vuosaari in Eastern Helsinki and convert it into a K-Citymarket hypermarket. Kesko has also purchased two plots in Lahti for the purpose of building a new hypermarket that will replace the K-Citymarket in Paavola. There are also plans to build a new hypermarket store Porvoo. In addition, Kesko has acquired a majority holding in the Espoontori shopping centre, to develop the centre with the city of Espoo, with plans to build a bigger grocery store. In total, Kesko will renovate and update 13 K-Citymarket stores in 2024.

”We have invested some €1 billion in updating K Group grocery stores in recent years. In line with Kesko’s growth strategy, we annually invest some €200-250 million in developing our grocery store network,” says Akseli.

Further information: 
Ari Akseli, President, grocery trade division, tel. +358 105 323 490
Jesse Kohonen, Regional Director (Kuopio), tel. +358 40 572 4031
Jari Alanen, Regional Director (Tampere), tel. +358 50 62026
Hanna Jaakkola, Vice President, Investor Relations, tel. +358 105 323 540
K Group media desk tel. +358 105 350 200 (Mon-Fri from 9 to 4), viestinta@kesko.fi

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