Stockmann
Stockmann plc (Nasdaq Helsinki: STCBV) is a Finnish listed company engaged in the retail trade. Its three business divisions are the Department Store Division and the Lindex and Seppälä fashion chains. Stockmann was established in 1862 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2012. Stockmann has 16 department stores and over 700 stores in 16 countries.
The flagship store in the centre of Helsinki covers 50,000 square meters (538,200 square feet) of retail space and welcomes more than 13 million visitors every year.
History
Stockmann was established by Georg Franz Stockmann, a German merchant from Lübeck. In 1859 Stockmann became the manager of a store in Helsinki's 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 which houses the current headquarters of the department store was finished, complete with revolving doors, a soda fountain and escalators. Stockmann also bought a book store, Akateeminen kirjakauppa (Swedish: Akademiska bokhandeln), 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 the beginning of the 1980s Stockmann opened two new department stores, Tapiola in 1981 and Turku in 1982. In 1986 the first "Hullut Päivät" or "Crazy Days" sales were held. The sales proved extremely popular and became a biannual event. The first Stockmann stores in Moscow opened in 1989, and in the 1990s the first Stockmann department stores outside Finland were opened in Tallinn and Moscow. The northern most department store was opened in Oulu in 2001.[1] In October 2007 Stockmann bought the Swedish clothing retailer Lindex with 331 outlets in the Nordic region and the Baltic republics
Department store division
The Department Store Division comprises 16 department stores, 21 other stores and three online stores. Stockmann's department stores operate in Finland, Russia, and the Baltic countries. In Finland, the Division also includes the Stockmann and Academic Bookstore online stores, Stockmann Beauty cosmetics stores, and Hobby Hall.
In late 2015 it was announced that Stockmann had sold its Russian stores to Debenhams.[2] The stores will be gradually rebranded Debenhams over two years.
Fashion chain division
Lindex
Lindex operates in 16 countries with 469 stores in 16 countries at the end of 2012. Stockmann acquired Lindex in 2007.
Seppälä
Seppälä has 220 fashion stores in Finland, Russia, and the Baltic countries (at the end of 2012). Seppälä was established in 1930 and Stockmann bought it in 1988.
Locations
Finland
- Helsinki centre, Stockmann's oldest and largest, flagship store
- Itäkeskus in Helsinki
- Jumbo in Vantaa
- Tapiola, second oldest store
- Tampere, third oldest store
- Turku
- Oulu
International
References
- ^ "Stockmann Oulu". Stockmann. 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
- ^ [1] Finland's Stockmann Sells Department Stores After 26 Years in Russia