Stockmann

Stockmann (OMX|HEX24363|STCBV) is a Finnish listed company which was established in 1862 and is engaged in the retail trade. Stockmann's three divisions are the Department Store Division, Hobby Hall, which is specialized in mail order sales and e-commerce, and Seppälä, a chain of fashion stores. Stockmann also used to sell cars through Stockmann Auto, but due to new EU-directives concerning the sale of cars Stockmann announced in early 2006 that it would sell the car division in pieces to three other car vendors. Stockmann operates in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.

History

Stockmann was established by Georg Franz Stockmann, a German merchant from Lübeck. In 1859 Stockmann became the manager of a store in the Helsinki Senate Square. In 1862 G.F. Stockmann took control of the store and Stockmann was officially established. In 1902 the company became G.F. Stockmann Aktiebolag. The shareholders were Stockmann and his two sons, Karl and Frans. In 1930 the building of the current headquarters of the department store was finished and it contained revolving doors, a soda fountain and escalators. Stockmann also bought a book store, Akateeminen kirjakauppa, in the same year. The first television transmission in Finland was broadcast from the department store in 1950. In the same decade Stockmann opened a new department store in Tampere. In 1982 Stockmann opened a department store in Turku. In 1986 the first "hullut päivät" or "crazy days" sales were held. The sales proved extremely popular and became a biannual event. The first stores in Moscow were already opened in 1989, but a full-scale department store was opened in 1998. In 2003 the first department store was opened in Riga.

Department Store Division

Stockmann owns seven department stores and academic bookstores and several Zara and Stockmann beauty stores in Finland. Stockmann's department store in the centre of Helsinki is the largest in the Nordic countries. Stockmann has department stores in Helsinki, Tampere, Espoo, Turku, Vantaa and Oulu in Finland and has expanded abroad to Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Moscow (Russia). In Russia there are also 7 Zara stores and 3 Bestseller stores and an outlet store in Moscow, and two speciality stores and one bestseller store in St. Petersburg.

Hobby Hall

Hobby Hall is Finland's largest mail order sales company and leading online store. There are 2 stores in Finland - in Helsinki and Vantaa. Hobby Hall is Estonia's largest mail order sales company, with a store in Tallinn. It is also the largest mail order sales company in Latvia. Hobby Hall also works in Russia.

Seppälä

Seppälä constitutes Finland and Estonia's most extensive chain of fashion stores, with over 120 stores in Finland and 14 stores in Estonia. Finally, there are several Seppälä stores in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania.

External links

*en icon [http://www.stockmann.fi/portal/en Stockmann]
*en icon [http://blog.anta.net/blog/_archives/2007/10/1/3262744.html Stockmann credit cards to be replaced by Nordea MasterCards]