SOK:N Pjohtaja Kari Neilimo
SOK Communications and publications 27 January 2005 1 (4) Press release, 27 January 2005 Released for immediate publication The S Group performed well amidst tough competition Retail sales up 11 per cent The S Group’s retail sales rose to EUR 8,080 million last year, an increase of 11.0 per cent on the previous year. The S Group’s largest retail area, the grocery trade, reported hefty sales growth in Finland of 11.4 per cent – a big increase compared with the trend in Finland’s grocery trade nationwide. The S Group’s retail sales in Finland rose to EUR 7,929 million last year. Growth amounted to 10.9 per cent, outpacing the average growth in Finland’s retail trade. The cooperative societies’ share of the S Group’s retail sales was EUR 6,653 million, or 83.9 per cent, and SOK Corporation accounted for 16.1 per cent. The cooperative societies’ retail sales increased by 12.9 per cent and SOK Corporation’s in turn by 1.7 per cent on the figures a year earlier. “The S Group’s good growth figures in 2004 are attributable to several different factors. Apart from the sales increase brought by the merger of HOK and Elanto, the other cooperative societies also turned in good results in their own areas of operations. Furthermore, our success stems in large measure from the growth in sales by SOK’s businesses. What’s more, the number of customer-owners of the S Group’s regional cooperative societies grew by over 100,000 new members for the fourth year in succession.
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