The Intersport operations run by the Kesko group in Finland and Russia reported lower revenues for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. They were down by 4.1 percent to €48 million in Finland and by 7.8 percent to €4 million in Russia. A higher drop of 19.3 percent to €72 million was recorded at Anttila, the Finnish department store chain of the group, following the closure of six stores.
These and other retail operations belong to the home and specialty goods trade segment of Kesko, which suffered an operating loss of €92.1 million during the period, mainly due to the store closures, but Intersport Finland continued to make a good profit. The segment's total revenues fell by 8.1 percent to €323 million, but its online stores booked higher sales.
After closing many unprofitable stores, Intersport Russia opened one in St. Petersburg during the latest quarter, ending up with a total of 20 doors in the country, while Intersport Finland launched its first web shop, Intersport.fi, as part of a wider commitment by the group to the internet. Kesko has in fact decided to integrate more closely the e-commerce and multi-channel operations of its various retail segments, notably those involved in the specialty goods trade, home improvement and food. The planned changes in functions and organization structure may affect up to 230 full-time positions out of a total of 2,800 employees, the company said.
As a group, Kesko continued to report a drop in its total turnover in the latest quarter, down by 2.9 percent to €2,304 million from the corresponding period of 2013, including a drop of 3.2 percent in the Finnish market. The operating margin improved slightly to 3.6 percent of sales. The net profit declined by 20.8 percent to €46 million.
