How Suomen Lähikauppa has evolved

Our present corporate image and operating principles were launched at the beginning of 2009 when Tradeka Ltd became Suomen Lähikauppa Oy.

What we are now is the result of nearly a century of development. Suomen Lähikauppa is the result of many mergers and acquisitions.

The latest merger took place in 2005, when Cooperation Tradeka Corporation joined forces with another retail chain, Ruokamarkkinat, a subsidiary of Wihuri Oy. The merger resulted in a strong new player in the Finnish retail sector.

Cooperation and wholesale business play an important part in the group’s history. The skill and expertise of several family-owned retail companies have also been significant. We have a heritage going back many decades. Valintatalo, one of our popular retail brands, is over 40 years old.

We constitute a vital part of Finnish retail history – but also of its future. We believe that the local store will increasingly be the choice of future generations.

Evolving chain operations

Suomen Lähikauppa has a lengthy tradition in retail chain operations. The organization took its first steps towards a chain structure in the mid-1980s. The existing three retail chains – Siwa, Valintatalo and Euromarket – have all been in operation since 1992.