R-kioski

R-kioski (known as R-kiosk in Estonia) is a chain of convenience stores that is part of the Reitan Convenience division of the Reitan Group. Reitan's Eastern Nordic and Baltic portfolio includes R-kioski in Finland, R-kiosk in Estonia and Lietuvos spauda in Lithuania. There are 560 R-kioski shops across Finland as of 2017.[1] They sell a range of products, such as books, magazines, cigarettes and tobacco, ready meals, snacks, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks such as beer and cider (up to 5.5% ABV, hence excluding harder liquor such as wine and spirits, whose sales are by Finnish law controlled by the Alko alcohol monopoly). R-kioski shops also provide services such as the various "Veikkaus" lottery games (and in some stores, slot machines), prepaid SIM cards and top-up vouchers, postal services, fishing licences, as well as the sale of public transport tickets. Selected shops are also able to sell national rail and bus transport tickets.

R-kioski Oy
FormerlyRautatiekirjakauppa
TypeJoint-stock company
Founded1910 (R-kioski Oy: 2011)
Headquarters
Finland
Number of locations
  • 560 (Finland 2017)[1]
  • 107 (Estonia 2014)
Area served
  • Finland
  • Estonia
Key people
  • Johannes Sangnes (CEO)
  • Ann-Charlotte Schalin (Head of marketing)
Products
  • Retail
Revenue
  • Decrease€318,226,000 (2013)
  • €320,153,000 (2012)
[2]
  • Increase€5,116,000 (2013)
  • €-11,446,000 (2012)
[2]
OwnerReitan Convenience
Number of employees
  • Decrease2,671 (2013)
  • 2,781 (2012)
[2]
ParentReitan Group
Websitewww.r-kioski.fi

R-kioski is known as "Ärrä" (the name of the letter R in Finnish) in common language. The company slogan is "Nopeaa ja mukavaa on asiointi" (It's swift and convenient to shop).

The first R-kiosk in Estonia opened in 1993, and as of 2014 there are 107 shops in Estonia.[3] Reitan Convenience posted a turnover of 1.63 billion Euros in 2017.[1] Reitan Convenience invested 18 million Euros in R-kioski in 2013 and 2014 together. The money was invested to broaden the product selection as well as to lower the price of food to par with other retail chains competing in the same market such as Alepa, Lidl and Siwa.[4]

History
Finnish Kismet (chocolate bar) with Geisha chocolate flavour and a cup of R-kiosk's coffee

A Finnish Kismet chocolate bar with Geisha chocolate flavour and a cup of black coffee at an R-kioski convenience store in Helsinki, Finland. The company dates back to 1910. The business was originally conceived by several major Finnish publishing houses as a newsagent for railway stations ("Rautakirja" was itself shortened from "Rautatiekirjakauppa" which translates to "railway bookshop"). It was later extended to other venues and products. The name R-kioski was adopted in 1958.

On 5 March 2012, it was announced that the Reitan Group bought R-kioski from Sanoma for roughly 130 million Euros. The group had been working on the purchase for a decade, but previous negotiations had stranded as R-kioski had demanded a merger where they owned 51 percent. The purchase brought the Reitan Group to 2,500 kiosk outlets, making it the second-largest kiosk group in Europe.[5][6] The company also previously operated in Romania between 2008 and 2011, but sold its operations to R-kioski Romania CEO Dan Vasile in April 2011. The name R-kioski was to be abandoned in Romania after a grace period following the corporate acquisition.[7]

In October 2021, R-kioski opened its first automated convenience store called R-kioski Go! in front of the Viikki Campus of the University of Helsinki.[8]

Former company slogans include "Kaiken lisäksi lähellä" (To top it off, it's near by), "Äkkiä R-kioskille" (Swiftly to R-kioski), "R-kioskilla kaikki käy" (We accept everything at R-kioski or Everyone visits R-kioski) and "R-Kioski — Sellaisena kuin sinä haluat" (R-Kioski — as you want it).

  • A R-kioski on Bulevardi in Helsinki with the old logo in 2006
    A R-kioski on Bulevardi in Helsinki with the old logo in 2006
  • An interior of a R-kioski in Jyväskylä. The Veikkaus lottery game counter and slot machines are on the far-left of this picture
    An interior of a R-kioski in Jyväskylä. The Veikkaus lottery game counter and slot machines are on the far-left of this picture
  • R-kiosk in Aleksandri Street, Tartu, Estonia in 2007
    R-kiosk in Aleksandri Street, Tartu, Estonia in 2007
  • R-kioski in Pasila railway station, Finland, 2014
    R-kioski in Pasila railway station, Finland, 2014

References
  1. R-kioski yritys 2017.
  2. Taloussanomat yrityshaku 2014.
  3. R-kiosk 2014.
  4. Taloussanomat interview 2014.
  5. Reuters 2011.
  6. Dagens Næringsliv 2012.
  7. Talouselämä 2011.
  8. "R-kioski avaa ensimmäisen miehittämättömän kioskin Helsingin Viikkiin / R-kioski".

Notes
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