Seinäjoki opens Finland’s first Sokos beside a hypermarket

Seinäjoki has opened Finland’s first Sokos department store alongside a Prisma hypermarket outside a city centre, Yle reports. The store is also among the smallest Sokos department stores in the country.

The opening marks the return of Sokos to Seinäjoki after a 26-year break. The city’s former City-Sokos department store closed 26 years ago, and customers have since repeatedly asked for a similar shop, says Iina Kalliorinne, head of grocery and specialist retail at the South Ostrobothnia Cooperative, known as Eepee.

Eepee wanted the department store next to the hypermarket to benefit from its customer traffic. Kalliorinne said the stores’ ranges complement each other.

The Seinäjoki store is the first Sokos located beside a hypermarket outside a city centre. Severi Siitonen, head of the Sokos and Emotion chains, said the company would learn from the experience, but has no current plans to open more department stores alongside hypermarkets.

The Sokos is about the same size as the one in Kajaani, while the Vaasa store in a neighbouring region is slightly larger. Customers queued in the Prisma corridor for Friday morning’s opening, and the store’s size and location did not appear to put them off.

The Hyllykallio Prisma shopping centre stands beside a main road, making it possible for people travelling from elsewhere in the region to reach it without going through the city centre. Ideapark, a large shopping centre and competitor, is six kilometres away along the same road. Kalliorinne said Eepee closely monitors competitors, while Jukka Matikainen, a manager for Prisma and Sokos, said competition and a wider range of shops were positive and could attract customers from the coast.