According to Markku Hautala, the retailer of K-Citymarket Järvenpää, the competition has brought many foreign tourists to the town of Järvenpää in southern Finland to visit one of best grocery stores in the world:
“I’m proud of our achievement! It’s a credit to our whole store staff. For a store this small on an international scale, located in such a small town in such a small and remote country to be this successful among the best of the best in the world is incredible! We have spent a lot of time and resources in developing our store, and approach everything with a passion down to the smallest detail. We are thrilled to receive such international recognition and be named store of the year!”
“The continuous development of the store is very important to me. I want to learn, outdo myself and surprise my customers. We are constantly trying out various new things at the store and have many projects underway, with a long list of ideas waiting to be implemented. For example, next spring we intend to remodel our dairy section,” says Markku Hautala.
“At K Group, we are thrilled and proud of K-Citymarket Järvenpää’s win. Markku Hautala and his staff have done an amazing job developing the store. Their uncompromising work to serve their customers really shows and is bearing fruit. This passion for developing and courage to try out new ideas are driving the entire grocery trade sector forward,” says Ari Sääksmäki, Vice President of the K-Citymarket chain.
IGD announced the awards finalists in July. K-Citymarket Järvenpää was the only store to be included in the Nordic countries. The other finalists for Store of the Year were Giant Heirloom, Philadelphia (USA), Sainsbury's, Selly Oak (UK), Sam's Club Now, Dallas (USA), Pão de Açúcar, São Paulo (Brazil), SuperValu, Clonakilty (Ireland) and Fooby, Lausanne (Switzerland).
IGD is a UK-based grocery trade research and training organisation. Every year IGD visits some 1,000 stores worldwide and compiles analysis reports. The organisation hosts an annual IGD Awards event in London to celebrate the best of the global food and consumer goods industry in various categories. K-Citymarket Järvenpää won Store of the Year, considered by many as the main awards category.
Further information:
Retailer Markku Hautala, K-Citymarket Järvenpää, tel. +358 41 533 2190
K Group media desk (Mon-Fri 8-16), tel. +358 105 350 200, viestinta@kesko.fi
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