In my Finnish lesson I recently learned about the two different supermarket chains; and that traditionally there was a bit of a class distinction between them, though not so much these days, especially since there are now other grocery chain competitors in Finland. It was mentioned that some families traditionally only shopped at either a K or S market. I find this fascinating and was hoping to hear more details and Finnish perspectives about this is (or was) all about.
by Powerful-Chicken-235
32 comments
K has better selection and S has slightly cheaper prices on average.
Back in the days we had K-Market, S-Market and Siwa in our small home town. My granddad only went so Siwa, my uncle to Siwa and S-Market and my parents and I (we live abroad in Germany) always supported S-Market. Nowadays there is only one big S-Market left, but back in the days it had some religious beliefs whether you would shop there or there.
Due to the exponential bonus system, it’s is economically wise to only use one of them. Finns also prefer routine above experiences, so once you pick your favorite store, changing it would be such a hassle.
K has often sales and also sales that lasts weeks. S is overall little bit cheaper.
Excuse me? Virtually all competitors are gone, with Lidl being the notable exception.
Back in the 1990s and even the early 2000s we had many grocery store chains operating both locally and nationwide.
K is more expensive, so its customer base is slightly wealthier than that of the S Group.
I prefer S Markets myself
Generally S Markets are cheaper at a base then the K counterparts, tho as mentioned here by someone else the K might have a better selection. And K markets have more and bigger sales too. Tho i think the S market bonus system is better.
The S-chain is a [consumer cooperative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_cooperative) while K is privately owned, which may explain the traditional class distinction.
smarket is somewhat cheaper k market got better catalog i use s market because its closest to me
We shop at S-Market/Prisma mainly bc we are customers of S-Pankki and get nice bonuses for shopping there. Our monthly “cash” return from grocery shopping usually pays our electricity bill.
K is right wing, S is left wing. Since 1918 shops, newspapers, sporting clubs, literally everything was divided.
K bonus card is free, S bonus card costs an annual fee but the price depends on the region. In my S region I couldn’t even cover the annual fee with bonuses with a one person household so I closed my membership and now I shop exclusively at K. My town has Lidl but they’re all outside the city center and inconvenient if you don’t have a car.
My mother worked for S group for decades, she’s now retired but still gets insane discounts as a former employee.
The S Group’s stores operate on a cooperative principle. This means that the owners are also the customers, called customer-owners. To become one, you need to get an S Card, which requires paying a €100 share fee. That payment makes you a part-owner of the cooperative.
The S Group has a stronger presence in rural areas, and because of its cooperative nature, it has traditionally been more popular there. Today, it’s also mainly the regional cooperatives that pay interest on this membership fee. For example, in Helsinki (HOK-Elanto) you don’t get interest, only customer bonuses, because profits are directed to building new stores.
By contrast, the K Group, run by Kesko, is a regular joint-stock company, not a cooperative. Historically, Kesko was founded in 1940 by independent retailers who wanted to strengthen their position against the cooperatives. Their loyalty card, Plussa card, doesn’t cost anything.
There used to be another cooperative, E-group, which had strong ties to the social democratic labour movement whereas S-group was more linked to agrarian/centrist side of politics.
I normally go to S-Market/Prisms due to the bonus with S-Pankki. Otherwise I would just go to Lidl 🥲.
I do most of my shopping in S, some specials from K. Except when up north, then it’s S all the way. Up there you really see the difference in prices.
Wise monkey sits in a tree when S and K tigers fight, while grabbing bargains from teuton.
Left/right distinction doesn’t really exist anymore, since Elanto co-op ceased to exist
There is an incentive to shop exclusively in one, as the monthly spend accumulate for money and you have booster thresholds (usable in K only and anywhere with S but it doesn’t really matter)
I am a member of S but shop mostly in K, the price difference might be slightly in S favor, but it really depends what you shop. I like the discount system and quantity, and easiness to apply of Knmore than S, as it is automatic vs showing the app.
And then of course proximity convenience, even so in many places they are in front of each others.
I prefer S, but K tends to have better beer selection and meat counters so I visit them occasionally.
For me it’s Lidl first, then S, then K. Though, the K-Citymarket in my town is really shitty so that’s partially why. I’ve seen amazing Citymarkets in big cities. In mine, Prisma is the biggest and neatest.
They all have unique things and strengths to them. But 90% of the time I just go to Lidl.
Lidl is always my first choice. Stuff I can’t find from there, I go grab from Prisma usually.
There isn’t really a class divide between S and K. It was between S and another group called E which doesn’t exist anymore.
At the beginning of the 1900s the consumer cooperatives in Finland formed a their own central cooperative to buy products in larger batches and provide all kinds of support activities to the individual consumer cooperatives. That cooperative was SOK which nowadays forms the backbone of S group.
In 1916 some cooperatives separated and formed their own central organization. They called themselves progressive and mostly served working class. The largest of those cooperatives was Elanto in Helsinki and thus the entire group was called E group.
SOK and its individual cooperatives served mostly farmers, middle class and other non-socialist people.
In the following decades a lot happened. Both groups had a lot of their own industry and by the 70s SOK was the largest industrial producer in Finland. In the 80s both groups were in lots of financial trouble though and downscaled their industry. Long story short S group survived and E group didn’t. Elanto of Helsinki became part of S group in 2003 and Siwa stores were the last remnants of E group and they were bought by Kesko (K group) in 2015.
I (almost) always use s-groups shops, because it’s the cheaper. Prisma being the cheapest/best selection. Also we have s-card which gives us some money back every month. It’s usually around 20-25€/month but it’s better than with K-group. Sometimes there might be a good deal on something (e.g. 3 ben&jerrys 10€) in k-groups stores and then I go there, but it’s so rarely, not even every month that I go there.
Sometimes you can get a whole ass salmon for 10 e/kg at some of the k fish counters. Or at least you could when I was still in Finland. I made so much gravlax.
S market all the way
I use K as its closest
Lippulaiva mainittu.
https://preview.redd.it/0fnqgen3m7nf1.jpeg?width=468&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ed73dcfac66cb1bbacddd84ab61270d28f5f88a
Others covered main points, I think.
One another competitive advantage that S Group has going for them is that they’re also a bank
Your shopping bonuses translate into real money on your S bank account. If you ever have to “go a bank” instead of online banking (99,999999 % of cases), essentially all S store stores double as a bank. Good for +85 year olds, since physical bank services have all but disappeared since 2010.
S Group and local cooperatives unfortunately dominate the restaurant , bar and cafe scene in mid-sized towns across Finland, leaving little room for competition
You do your groceries, buy latte, drink beer, have lunch, fill your tank / charge your EV, sleep at hotel owned by S Group or its local coop. They even run e.g. franchise burger joints of third parties. All gives bonuses.
Really prefer K stores for their selection, but S is more convenient, though not good for spurring local entrepreneurial activity
K: better selection, more unique items as they aren’t as standardised because each store has an owner who has power over it. Usually bit more expensive, but can have some very good discounts and other special stuff. Overall more interesting, but more pricey.
S: cheaper on average, because each store is very standardised. But that also leads to the stores being bit boring and very predictable. There’s almost never anything special. Good for basics though and has pretty good bonus system and even own bank.
Overall I like K stores more because of their selection and own brands (Pirkka>Rainbow/Coop), but S stores make more sense for day to day grocery shopping because of the prices.
The impression I have is that S was cheaper than K. But that has changed and K usually have more promotions. The bonus cash you got back is not worth it because you are paying more.
Our primary shop is lidl, then k-citymarket we we need something we don’t find in lidl.
Lidl has better prices and good quality products often better than S and K home brands.
One thing that push me away from S-ruhma is that they buy nice local restaurants and ruin it with bigger prices and lower quality making a chain of mediocre restaurant what otherwise was a nice cozy local family business.
After living in Helsinki for a bit less than two months, back in 2023, I’ll say:
K Market was great because there was more at least where I lived ( Esplanadi), and it was more convenient. Also it had a small section of very cheap souvenirs to bring back home and it was great!
S market though… The 24 hour one near the train station, that shit is another level, visited Helsinki again last summer and ofc went in just for old times sake. Big selection, cheap and good quality.
I used to shop mostly in Lidl tho, way cheaper and pretty nice overall.
Very similar. The K-markets are slightly nicer (usually feel newer for some reason) and more expensive but the difference is too small to be significant.
S chain has better produce. K has better selection of other products.
Comments are closed.