Coincidentally, however, they started operations in Kazakhstan the same year. From there, the flow of goods to Russia has exploded since the war began. It’s difficult, of course, to prove by browsing Google that Spar specifically is involved in this…
7 Likes
Yes, the local operator obtained a license starting from 1.1.2022. Spar is constantly expanding into different countries. Perhaps the place for this discussion would be somewhere other than the Tokmanni thread.
5 Likes
Today, I visited the renovated Järvenpää Tokmanni Eurospar store, which celebrated its grand opening yesterday. According to news reports, the advertised opening offers and free bucket gifts had attracted a good crowd on the first opening day. Quoting the local newspaper Keski-Uusimaa, “Tokmanni was jammed at the Eurospar opening like the streets of Mumbai,” even though the Järvenpää K-Citymarket, voted the world’s best store, is just across the street. In my opinion, they had made the grocery section quite neat, and it’s a clear facelift compared to the previous store. They had also changed the rest of the store and the placement/arrangement of products.
Clearly, more staff had been scheduled for the opening festivities, as all checkouts were open (normally only a couple of checkouts are in use). Still, in typical Tokmanni fashion, one had to queue at the checkout, although my own checkout moved unusually well for Tokmanni this time. 
I quickly glanced to see if people were only after the grocery offers, but there were indeed general merchandise items that had found their way into shopping carts or baskets. My own shopping basket, despite the offers, unusually cost over 70 euros, as I usually belong to the group that only picks up a single targeted purchase from there. Apparently, they were also giving out five-euro discount coupons for the next 25-euro purchase, meaning they are aggressively trying to get visitors to the store.
Apparently, Tokmanni had also started taking jabs at its competitor, like Prisma (another Finnish hypermarket chain), advertising itself as “Tavallista Sparempi ruokakauppa” (A “Spare-ier” grocery store than usual, a play on words with “parempi” meaning better, and “Spar” from Eurospar).
Well, this doesn’t really have much significance from an investment case perspective, but it’s a nice renovation for my taste. If that Dollarstore could ever be made to work, I might even consider adding to my position. For now, I’m still a bit skeptical about it. For the time being, let this be an “eternal hold” in my portfolio, waiting for a turn for the better, as I still have enough capital losses from the Tecnotree and Kamux adventures, and my investment strategy for this relies on good old faith in something better. 
19 Likes
Doesn’t this matter though? If Tokmanni gets a genuinely affordable grocery store from Spar where you can buy all necessary foodstuffs, then it certainly competes with K and S stores.
6 Likes
I think Tokmanni’s marketing has taken a step forward. Today in Helsingin Sanomat (Hesari) there were separate ad segments: Spar’s food ads related to the new store in Järvenpää, as well as Tokmanni’s weekly ad flyer, which has been running for a longer time. To my eye, the ads look high-quality and clear. They also make good use of the “Finland’s Cheapest” (Suomen Halvin) slogan. It probably costs a fortune, but they’re not holding back on advertising.
9 Likes
Although Mr. Tokmanni’s ads have been good before, the advertising has at least increased, and for certain products, the new slogan is accurate. And we are not talking about a difference of a few cents.
4 Likes
Yes, absolutely. 
I mainly thought that the renovation of one store wouldn’t have a big impact on the overall picture. I’ll have to keep an eye on where food prices settle there, because I always follow them in @Sijoittaja-alokas (Investor-novice) style whenever I go shopping. The breadth of the food selection in this case will probably fall somewhere between the nearest Lidl and that K-Citymarket.
4 Likes
It’s unlikely that Spar will become a true discount grocery store, but then again, Lidl hasn’t been one in Finland since its early days either. My own assessment is that Spar’s significance in the Finnish grocery market will remain small, but it could still be substantial for Tokmanni’s business. We have already received encouraging information about how the total sales of stores whose food sections have been converted to Spar have grown.
Taking Kesko as a comparison. At the end of last year, there were 83 Citymarkets, 254 K-Supermarkets, and 721 K-Markets in Finland. Spar cannot compete with Citymarkets. However, about twenty food sections converted to Eurospares could be quite good operators alongside mid-level K-Supermarkets. If the number of Eurospares rises to, say, 30-40, their position would certainly improve further. But could there be, say, 100 Eurospares in Finland? Unlikely.
Separate merchant-driven Spar stores have been discussed as a possibility. But these would likely compete in the K-Market size category, whose significance in the daily goods trade is constantly shrinking and whose number is decreasing. It would be natural to develop cooperation with M-merchants, which could offer economies of scale for all parties. But at the same time, it’s important to remember that M-store’s market share in Finland is 0.2%.
But to reiterate, what is small for the industry can be big for Tokmanni. If Tokmanni were to succeed in, for example, doubling its food sales over some period, it wouldn’t significantly shake up the market situation for the trade. But for Tokmanni, the impact on procurement costs and also on the sales of non-food items would surely be very substantial.
15 Likes
How does Tokmanni currently handle purchases in addition to Spar products, for example, fresh produce? Does it use S and K wholesalers or some other solution?
2 Likes
Spar will be used to purchase all industrial dry goods (e.g., tuna, pasta) and snacks (chips, etc.). The procurement prices for these should now be significantly lower compared to the situation before Spar. Fresh produce will be sourced through wholesalers (K and S, or e.g., fish and vegetable wholesalers). For sweets, beverages, or other categories that are also sold outside of fresh food Tokmanni stores, Tokmanni may have direct contacts with suppliers (e.g., Fazer).
13 Likes
Last year’s market shares in the grocery trade have been published:
Here’s a comparison from a year ago:
Tokmanni’s market share in the grocery trade decreased by 0.1%.
8 Likes
Yesterday’s stock market evening:
The Tokmanni segment starts at 1 h 5 min.
4 Likes
One can dare to share this here, as it is April Fool’s Day
: Tokmanni repäisee: rakentaa maailman suurimman ämpärimuseon – Ämpärimuseon katolla tullaan järjestämään pikadeittejä | Tokmanni Group Corporation
And the notice of the Annual General Meeting, same time and place as before, maybe in Mäntsälä this year: Tokmanni Group Oyj:n kutsu varsinaiseen yhtiökokoukseen | Kauppalehti
Let’s add this here too, it’s good that the company has social responsibility: Tokmanni jatkaa kotimaisen mielenterveystyön ja kriisiauttamisen tukemista – Osallistuu MIELI Suomen Mielenterveys ry:n Mielinauha-kampanjaan paitsi myymällä Mielinauhoja myös lahjoituksella | Tokmanni Group Corporation
18 Likes
Tokmanni is closing its Suolahti store in the fall. After this, Äänekoski will have one Tokmanni:
(paywall)
The Suolahti store became a Tokmanni through the acquisition of Ale-Makasiini. Suolahti merged with Äänekoski in 2007.
18 Likes
Tokmanni’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held this past Tuesday in Mäntsälä at Tokmanni’s administration and logistics center, starting at 10:00 AM. After several years of failed attempts (Covid, train strikes, train delays, forgetting to register, etc.), I finally managed to attend when a car ride was arranged at the last minute. Getting there by public transport is somewhat problematic, as it requires a 40-minute walk to the headquarters (pääkallopaikka) after the train journey; even then, one would arrive at the last minute and miss the pre-meeting coffee. It would be good for the meeting notice to mention whether coffee is served before or after the meeting, as it is a established part of the AGM’s social interaction and important to many shareholders.
After the initial preamble, getting to the point: what I’ve written is based on the official speeches of Chairman of the Board Erkki Järvinen and CEO Mika Rautiainen, the Q&A session, and background discussions with Tokmanni’s loyalty program manager and a board member before and after the meeting. As usual, I grant myself a disclaimer for any potential memory lapses or misunderstandings.
To recap some basic figures: the Group’s employee count is 6,500, with revenue coming 72% from Tokmanni Finland and 28% from Dollarstore Sweden. Sales of groceries (päivittäistavara) have grown according to the trend, now at 53.5%; it’s worth noting that margins here are lower than in non-food goods (käyttötavara). Stores: Finland 242 (including Click Shoes), Sweden 139, and Denmark 11. In Finland, Tokmanni owns only one store property; in Sweden, it owns seven; all others are leased. There are already 5,900 common products group-wide. The aim is to consistently increase the share of private-label products; Kotikulta has broken through well in Sweden. The Spar cooperation is working excellently, and the share of “food-Tokmannis” is being increased so that customers can get everything they need from the same shop. Some food and drink products will be launched in Sweden in the near future.
Consumer confidence remains at a low level, although clearly better in Sweden than in Finland. Foremost in consumers’ minds are considered consumption, sensitivity to campaigns, and monitoring offers—price comparison is easy nowadays. Additionally, the competitive landscape has changed: global platform operators are increasing their sales, and international store chains are expanding rapidly. Tokmanni aims to respond to these with familiar methods: cost discipline, improving the price-quality image, focus on profitability, a low-price program, a joint purchasing organization, and inventory (vaihto-omaisuus) management. Price leadership is the goal; it was noteworthy that they took first place in Aftonbladet’s shopping basket comparison in Sweden. The loyalty program plays a significant role; out of three million members, about a third use the Tokmanni app, which is very user-friendly on its home screen compared to those of other chains. A lot of work is being done to get those people who shout their phone numbers at the checkout to use the app; there isn’t a corresponding version in Sweden yet, but ideas are being tossed toward Timo Heino (the Swedish counterpart) all the time.
Tokmanni is still the market leader in areas like yard and garden products, and these are being expanded in Sweden and Denmark as well. Rautiainen emphasized that last year’s H1 was a washout due to the weather; reading between the lines, one could boldly interpret that the same isn’t happening this year, since the matter was specifically mentioned. In the non-food sector, toys are also selling well, and in other categories like home decor and clothing, they are near the top. In the grocery sector, personal hygiene and laundry/cleaning are important categories, with the amount of food products naturally on the rise.
Investors are particularly interested in Dollarstore, and management spoke candidly about it being a turnaround company. The issue is that they are trying to increase the share of 50-krona products in sales, which has led to a loss of customers. The problem is that the previously popular 10-krona products were often of poor quality, and in Sweden, one can even be fined for selling poor quality—and this doesn’t fit Tokmanni’s image of responsibility anyway. When I asked directly if the poor quality of these products came as a surprise when the acquisition was made, Rautiainen admitted that this was partially the case because there wasn’t visibility into all products. I also asked somewhat provocatively how this is intended to be marketed to customers—“we used to sell seconds for 10 krona and now quality for 50 krona” . The answer was very complex, and to my memory, no single specific methods were highlighted, but the intention is also to grow Dollarstore stores’ revenue; in Finland, the average store generates six million in revenue, while in Sweden it’s only three million. The turnaround just doesn’t happen overnight, as they remembered to mention.
Two new members were elected to the board to replace one departing member: Katarina Gabrielson, who is the CEO of Oriola (I don’t know if that’s much of a merit, but it’s good to get a Swedish perspective on the board), and former Stockmann CEO Jari Latvanen.
The dividend was confirmed at €0.17 in the spring and, according to the board’s decision, €0.17 in the autumn. Kim Lindström was present and presented Tokmanni’s somewhat erratic dividend history. He asked why the autumn dividend couldn’t also be decided at the AGM; last year went poorly when it was left unpaid entirely. It would certainly increase market confidence, but the board wants to see the results first and keep this in their own hands.
The fate of the former Swedish head, Anders Kind, still made me wonder, but as a board member told me, when you aren’t satisfied with the work contribution, options are limited. Procurement cooperation with the Norwegian company Europris continues, even though the companies are now competitors in Sweden (ÖoB).
The management’s presentations were quite meritorious, and the answers to questions were fairly outspoken—points for that. The new CEO, Sampo Päällysaho, who starts on July 1st, was present as a shareholder in the audience and introduced himself briefly. I must specifically mention that the management team and the board were seated in the auditorium on both sides of the stage sideways, facing the audience—a very commendable way of doing things; one has become quite familiar with the backs of the heads of corporate titans in large companies .
For “physical dividends” (reaaliosinkoina), there were butter-eye buns (or something similar) and a couple of types of cookies. Naturally, upon leaving, a red bucket full of selected Tokmanni products awaited the meeting representatives .
Adding a picture of the symbol; the bucket has already been emptied, of course. And indeed, bucket queues have also been seen at store openings in Sweden; the Dollarstore logo can be found on the other side of that bucket:
68 Likes
Similar to Finland, Dollarstore’s target market in Sweden also grew favorably in March. Statistics Sweden published the March figures on April 29.
“Compared to the corresponding month in 2025, the retail trade’s sales volume increased in March by 6.2 percent in calendar-adjusted figures. Trade in discretionary goods increased by 9.0 percent, while trade in consumables excluding Systembolaget increased by 3.3 percent.
The corresponding change in constant prices without calendar adjustment showed an increased sales volume of 7.9 percent for the retail trade in March 2026 compared to the same period the previous year. Trade in discretionary goods increased by 9.6 percent, while trade in consumables excluding Systembolaget increased by 5.4 percent.”
16 Likes
By the way, will there be a compensation live stream this Friday, May 8th @Iikka_Numminen !?
Yay, great @Iikka_Numminen !
10 Likes
There will be a normal results livestream on Friday! 
14 Likes
@Arttu_Heikura’s result preview: a slight upward adjustment to the forecasts, but the recommendation remains at “Reduce.” Visibility into the Dollarstore segment is indeed poor, so I understand the stance, though I believe there is room for positive surprises. Over the past year, economic policy debate has emphasized that Finnish companies are afraid to grow and only pay out dividends. You certainly can’t blame Tokmanni for that right now, and they are working up a sweat to turn things around in Sweden, so I still have confidence: Tokmanni Q1'26 -ennakko: Markkinalta myötätuulta alkuvuoden tulosparannukselle - Inderes
From Kauppalehti’s breaking news: DNB Carnegie raises Tokmanni’s target price to 8.10 euros (previously 7.60 euros), repeats Hold rating
20 Likes
There is room for positive surprises, but I suspect that potentially good sales in the Tokmanni segment might not be enough to save the day if we don’t see encouraging signs from Dollarstore. On the other hand, an improvement in Dollarstore’s performance could be rewarded with a strong share price reaction, even if the Tokmanni segment doesn’t dazzle.
Ahead of the annual report, I halved my position and then bought those shares back during the most recent price crash. Recently, I halved my position again; if the price goes up, I’ll enjoy the gains. If the report triggers an overreaction and the price drops excessively again, I’ll be happy to put my buying boots on.
I do see good short-term return potential in the stock, but that requires clearly encouraging signs from Sweden.
16 Likes