In January–September, the retail sales before taxes of S Group’s supermarket trade totalled EUR 8,140.6 million. Compared with the corresponding period in the previous year, sales grew by 2.7 per cent.

“In the supermarket trade, the development of sales has been steady and strong throughout the year. In the grocery trade, we estimate that our sales continued to develop better than the rest of the sector’s market in January–September,” says Hannu Krook, CEO of SOK.

Favourable weather conditions boosted the grocery trade sales during the third quarter. In particular, the heatwave in July increased the demand for the summer season’s products such as drinks, ice cream and barbecue products. Sales were also boosted by the return to regular everyday life after the holiday season and the start of the autumn season. For example, the sales of fruit and vegetables were strong.

The effect of the weather was also visible in the consumer goods trade: after a cool early summer, the demand for summer clothing and air-cooling equipment increased in the third quarter. However, consumers continued to carefully consider their purchasing decisions and favoured low-cost options.

In the specialty stores business, the fine development of the Sokos.fi online store continued

The sales of S Group’s specialty stores in January–September totalled EUR 187.5 million, with a decrease of 2.7 per cent from the previous year. The sales of the Sokos.fi online store have been growing strongly throughout the year, and the good development continued in the third quarter.

The 3+1 Day campaign in September was also successful at Sokos stores and the Emotion chain, and its sales reached record levels. Business was stronger than the overall development in home product groups, for example, and the demand for women’s and men’s fashion picked up. The fashion product selection grew through the cooperation with the Swedish Åhlens department store, which expanded into online retail.

The steady development of the fuels retail and service stations business continued – demand for vehicle charging and car washes was particularly strong

S Group’s fuels retail and service stations sales in January–September amounted to EUR 1,474.2 million. Sales in euros decreased by 5.7 per cent from the previous year due to a fall in world market prices for fuels.

During the summer, road traffic volumes even exceeded the pre-pandemic level, which was reflected in the high demand for the services of the ABC chain in the third quarter. Sales of car washes and vehicle charging grew particularly strongly. The successful summer season also boosted the in-store trade of ABC service station stores. The ABC restaurants’ buffet is particularly popular among customers, and the expanded buffet concept has been very well received.

Favourable development in the travel industry and hospitality business at both hotels and restaurants

The sales of S Group’s travel industry and hospitality business in January–September grew by nearly 2.6 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching a total of EUR 617.8 million. The summer heatwave boosted the sales of restaurants to a great level during the third quarter. Business was particularly active at cafés, fast food restaurants and entertainment restaurants.

The development of sales was also strong in the travel industry. Overnight stays at S Group hotels increased more than the rest of the market among both domestic and international customers. Overnight stays by international travellers have increased particularly strongly, by more than 20% compared to last year.

The retail sales before taxes of regional cooperative enterprises, SOK and their subsidiaries 1–9/2025

Supermarket trade includes S-Group’s grocery trade and Prisma’s consumer goods trade.

*The figure includes sales in Estonia.

**The previous name of the business area was department stores and specialty goods sales.