New Tokmanni in Pietarsaari – The general discount retailer has been much anticipated in the town
Tokmanni Press release 23 November 2020 at 5:45 p.m.
Responding to the wishes of many customers, Tokmanni, Finland's largest general discount retailer, is opening a new, varied and pleasant store in Pietarsaari on Thursday 26 November 2020 at 8.00 am. As is usual for the general discount retailer, the opening of the first Tokmanni store in the town will include many special offers and the famous surprise buckets with various product gifts. Tokmanni will also ensure safety in many ways at the opening of its new store.
Located in a new commercial building at Vaunusepäntie 12, the store represents the general discount retailer’s latest store concept, which emphasises pleasant and convenient shopping and offers a wide-ranging product assortment. To ensure a pleasant customer experience, the store has spacious aisles and well-defined product groups, for example. In addition, the fact that Pietarsaari is a bilingual town is taken into account in the store signage, for example.
The spacious and well-lit store has retail selling space of approximately 2,150 square metres and offers a very wide selection of products. The assortment will specifically include beauty, health and wellbeing, interior decoration, cleaning, clothing, leisure, home electronics, home renovation and seasonal products as well as non-perishable foods at very low prices, in the true spirit of Tokmanni. In addition, the garden department at the store will sell a wide selection of yard and garden products, such as seasonal tools and plants, and propane canisters.
Attractive and much-anticipated store
Many people have expressed their wish to Tokmanni that it should open a store in Pietarsaari. In the recently completed new building, Tokmanni will have commercial premises that perfectly meet its needs, located on main road 68 leading into Pietarsaari, around two kilometres from the centre of the town.
“We are very pleased with the fact that we have been able to expand our comprehensive store network to Pietarsaari. Tokmanni has attracted plenty of interest among local residents, and now everything is ready for customers and the busy Christmas season. In fact, we believe our new store will make a very good start,” says Mathias Kivikoski, Tokmanni’s Sales and Marketing Director.
Convenient services and smart energy choices
Tokmanni in Pietarsaari offers a number of services that will make everyday life easier for customers, such as a retail point for small electrical and electronic waste, a Posti Parcel Point and Tokmanni's “Soita ja nouda” (Call and Pick Up) service for customers in the higher risk group for the coronavirus. As with all other Tokmanni locations, the store in Pietarsaari will serve as a pick-up point for products purchased from Tokmanni’s online store.
Tokmanni focuses much attention on smart energy solutions. In Pietarsaari, these include energy-efficient LED lighting and a charging point for electric and rechargeable hybrid cars for use by customers. In addition, the property's building services are remotely controlled by an automated system, so that settings affecting energy consumption can be monitored 24 hours a day and, if necessary, adjusted from a control room. The shop also functions as one of Tokmanni's 37 solar power plants. In Pietarsaari, the 360 solar panels located on Tokmanni's roof will produce an estimated 103 MWh of renewable solar power for the store's own use per year.
“We believe it is very important that our stores have not only comprehensive product selections and low prices, but also services and smart energy solutions that are appreciated by our customers. For example, the Tokmanni online store's pick-up point allows our customers to order products to be picked up in our stores, including products not included in the store’s own selections,” says Kivikoski.
“A solar power plant produces an average of about 15–20 per cent of the total annual electricity consumption of a store and, on average, half of the electricity consumption in the summertime, i.e. May–August. In addition, all of the electricity we purchase is renewable electricity,” he adds.
Professional staff and extensive opening hours
In addition to a wide selection of products and services and modern energy solutions, Tokmanni will focus in particular on good customer service in Pietarsaari. For this purpose, about 15 retail sector professionals have been hired for the new store.
The Pietarsaari store, headed by Katri Lehvonen, Store Manager, has long opening hours and will be open on weekdays from 8 am to 9 pm, on Saturdays from 8 am to 8 pm and on Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm.
Safety first, also at the opening
Tokmanni will take special precautions to ensure a safe shopping experience also at the opening of the Tokmanni store in Pietarsaari. The safety of the customers and employees will be ensured at the new Tokmanni with protective screens installed at checkouts and by offering customers hand sanitizer during their visit and reminding them to keep a safe distance with posters and announcements. Additionally, the personnel will be instructed to wear face masks. To avoid crowding during the opening, the number of customers inside the store at one time will be limited, if necessary.
The store’s opening offers will be valid for four days, from Thursday to Sunday, 26–29 November 2020. To avoid queues, Tokmanni will distribute tokens for its famous surprise buckets to the first one thousand paying customers at the Pietarsaari store. By presenting their token, the customers will be able to collect their surprise bucket containing product gifts from outside the store on the opening day safely without having to queue. In addition to the product gifts, a EUR 100 Tokmanni gift voucher has been hidden in two of the buckets.
At the opening on the morning of Thursday 26 November, Anne Ekstrand, Deputy Mayor, will deliver a speech on behalf of the town of Pietarsaari. Tokmanni will be represented at the opening by the store’s employees together with Markus Lähteenmäki, Regional Manager, and Mathias Kivikoski, Sales and Marketing Director. Please make interview requests in advance.
TOKMANNI
For further information, please contact:
Mathias Kivikoski
Sales and Marketing Director
Tel. +358 20 728 6045
mathias.kivikoski(at)tokmanni.fi
Harri Koponen
Store Network and Concept Director
Tel. +358 20 728 6030
harri.koponen(at)tokmanni.fi
Maarit Mikkonen
Head of IR and Communications
Tel. +358 40 562 2282
maarit.mikkonen(at)tokmanni.fi
Calls to a corporate number beginning with +358 20 7 from a landline or a mobile phone are EUR 0.0835 per minute + EUR 0.1669 per minute (incl. VAT 24%). Calls from outside Finland are subject to an international call charge.
Tokmanni is Finland’s leading general discount retailer. Some 3,700 Tokmanni employees make customers’ everyday life and special occasions easier by offering a versatile and up-to-date assortment of Finnish and international brand-name products and other high-quality products at prices that are always affordable. With nearly 200 stores around Finland and an online store, Tokmanni is always close to its customers. Tokmanni’s revenue in 2019 amounted to EUR 944.3 million. Tokmanni’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
