Kesko Oyj - Company Announcement

The core of Kesko's new strategy is profitable growth in three strategic areas

KESKO CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 27.05.2015 AT 09.00 1(3)

The core of Kesko's new strategy is profitable growth in three strategic areas

Kesko's Board of Directors has decided on a strategy aimed at achieving
profitable growth in three strategic areas: the grocery trade, the building and
home improvement trade and the car trade. We will operate the retailer business
model or Kesko's own stores when it provides competitive advantage. Kesko will
differentiate from the competitors with quality and customer orientation, and by
bringing the best digital services in the trading sector to the market."Kesko will seek profitable growth in the future by focusing on three strategic
growth areas: the grocery trade, the building and home improvement trade and the
car trade. In addition, all business operations will be developed aiming at
business success.""When we operate even more as a unified company we will be able to offer our
customers even better services and to operate more efficiently. In the grocery
trade, our objective is to turn the market share around. In the building and
home improvement trade, we want to further strengthen our already strong
position in Europe. As the market leader in the Finnish car trade, we want to
increase our market share in Finland and the Baltic countries."

At the same time, the customer experience of consumers and businesses will be
strengthened by building the best digital services in the sector for the
customers of the K-Group and its chains, and by revising the K-Plussa customer
loyalty system to make it even more attractive.""In the future, Kesko will operate as a unified K-Group more strongly than
before and a new strong corporate identity, expressed through a revised K
symbol, will be built for the company.""A successful implementation of Kesko's strategy relies on the value that guides
all operations: Customer and quality - in everything we do," says Kesko's
President and CEO Mikko Helander.

Finnish and European

In the grocery trade, Kesko's strategic objective is to turn the K-Group's
market share around in Finland in 2016. Capital expenditure in the K-supermarket
and K-market chains will be increased significantly. The target is approximately
30 new K-supermarkets. In the K-market chain, the current network will be
revised and the objective is to establish over 100 new neighbourhood stores and
to test a completely new store concept. In addition, the whole K-citymarket
concept will be renewed. In the online food trade, the target is a 40% market
share. In Russia, increasing business operations and improving profitability in
the St. Petersburg area will continue. Moreover, new growth opportunities in the
Moscow area and possibly other metropolitan cities in Russia will be explored.
Increasing the business operations of the grocery wholesale company Kespro is
also at the centre of the grocery trade strategy.

In the building and home improvement trade, Kesko's objective is to further
strengthen its position in Europe. Kesko is already now the market leader in
Finland and the fifth largest operator in the sector in Europe. The objective is
to increase market share and achieve profitable growth in the existing markets
alone, through acquisitions, or in cooperation with partners. At the same time,
possibilities to expand also elsewhere in Europe will be examined. The K-rauta
Express concept of fast and easy shopping will be launched for locations with
large flows of customers at, for example, shopping centres and city centres.

Also in the passenger car and van trade, Kesko is currently the clear market
leader in Finland. In the future, the Group aims to increase its market share in
Finland and the Baltic countries.

In the core and support processes of the Group's different business operations,
the objective is to achieve significant synergies and enhancement benefits. For
this purpose, common functions that support business operations will be created
and the competitiveness of business operations will be strengthened through an
even closer cooperation in the core processes of business operations.

Kesko Group will also immediately start planning to simplify the legal
structure.

In order to ensure competitiveness and improve profitability Kesko's objective
is to achieve cost savings of at least €50 million in fixed costs by the end of
2016.

Financial targets and capital expenditure

Financial targets according to Kesko's new strategy announced on 27 May 2015:

Indicator                                 Target



Return on capital employed                14%

Return on equity                          12%

Interest-bearing net liabilities / EBITDA <2.5

Capital expenditure in 2015-2017          c. €1bn*



* Excluding possible acquisitions.

The composition of Kesko's divisional structure and segment reporting will
change as of 1 July 2015. An agricultural and machinery trade unit will be
established as part of the speciality goods trade of the home improvement and
speciality goods trade division.

Conference call today at 15.00 EET

Kesko will hold a conference call on the new strategy today, Wednesday 27 May
2015, at 15.00 EET. To participate in the call, please phone +358 9 747 90302
and enter the code 83093888# when requested.

Further information:
Mikko Helander, President and CEO, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 105 322 301
Jukka Erlund, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Kesko Corporation,
tel. +358 105 322 113
Lauri Peltola, Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility, Communications
and Stakeholder Relations, Kesko Corporation, tel. +358 50 570 5606.

Kesko Corporation


Merja Haverinen
Vice President, Group Communications

DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd
Main news media
www.kesko.fi


[HUG#1924081]