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2007-12-13 08:30:00 CET 2007-12-13 08:30:00 CET REGULATED INFORMATION Kesko Oyj - Company AnnouncementIndoor Group to increase efficiency of operations and concentrate on Finnish and Baltic marketsKESKO CORPORATION STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 13.12.2007 Indoor Group to increase efficiency of operations and concentrate on Finnish and Baltic markets Indoor Group Ltd, part of the Kesko Group, will start an extensive development programme, which aims to strengthen the company's market position in the home furniture and interior decoration retailing in Finland and the Baltic countries. At the same time Indoor Group will divest its operations in Sweden. Divestiture costs are expected to lower Indoor Group's profit for this year by about 4 million euros. The divestiture will be treated as a non-recurring item, and it will have no effect on the future outlook previously published by Kesko. In order to increase the customer satisfaction and competitiveness of its chains in Finland Indoor Group will improve its chain brands, marketing, logistics and chain management. Next year Asko will celebrate its 90th anniversary by strengthening the role of Finnish furniture designers in the collection development and highlighting young talented designers. A new special collection and product families will be launched to the market. Due to the plan to increase the efficiency of operations in Finland and to divest the business in Sweden, Indoor Group will start rationalisation negotiations in its domestic units. The estimated need for redundancies in Finland is approximately 50 employees. During the procedure, placement opportunities of the employees within the Kesko Group will be established. A significant proportion of staff reductions will be achieved through the termination of fixed-term employments. The rationalisation negotiations are expected to be completed by the end of January. Indoor Group has had three stores in the greater Stockholm area. The operations of the outlet at Kungens Kurva ended on 10 December 2007 due to the termination of the lease. The operations of the outlets at Barkarby and Länna will end by 30 May 2008. The total number of employees in these two stores is about 50. With its chain concepts, Indoor Group is the leading home furniture and interior decoration retailer in Finland, where the Asko and Sotka chains comprise a total of 85 stores. The organisational arrangements and rationalisation activities aim to further strengthen the company's position as the market leader in Finland. The company will also continue to expand its business in the Baltic countries. Currently it has six stores in Latvia and five stores in Estonia. Further information: President Pasi Mäkinen, Indoor Group Ltd, tel. +358 3 554 3512 |
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