Stockmann plc is a Finnish retailer established in 1862. Stockmann's 8 company-owned department stores are in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. There are an additional 9 Stockmann-branded department stores in Russiaowned and operated by Reviva Holdings, with a license to use the Stockmann name until 2023. The Stockmann, Helsinki centreflagship store covers of retail space and welcomes more than 17 million visitors every year. It is the largest department store in the Nordic countries. Stockmann owns and manages 5 shopping malls with of gross leasable area, of which half is occupied by Stockmann. Lindex, owned by Stockmann, has 475 stores in 16 countries, including 39 franchised stores.
History
Stockmann was established by Georg Franz Stockmann, a merchant from Lübeck, Germany who took a job as a bookkeeper at a Nuutajärvi Glassworks store in Helsinki Senate Square. In 1859, Stockmann became the manager of the store. In 1862, Stockmann took control of the store and the Stockmann department store was officially established. In 1902, the company was renamed G.F. Stockmann Aktiebolag. The shareholders were Stockmann and his two sons, Karl and Frans. Stockmann died in 1906. In 1930, the Stockmann, Helsinki centre store was finished, complete with revolving doors, a soda fountain, and escalators. Also in 1930, Stockmann bought a neighbouring book store, Akateeminen kirjakauppa. The first television transmission in Finland was broadcast from the department store in 1950. In the 1950s, Stockmann opened a department store in Tampere. Stockmann opened department stores in Tapiola in 1981 and Turku in 1982. In 1986, the first "Hullut Päivät" sales were held. The sales proved extremely popular and became a biannual event. The first Stockmann stores outside of Finland opened in Moscow in 1989, and in Tallinn in 1993. The northernmost department store, in Oulu, opened in 2001 and closed in 2017. In 1989, Stockmann began operations in Russia, with the opening of a small stand in the GUM department store in Moscow. In December 2007, Stockmann acquired Lindex, a Swedish clothing retailer with 331 outlets in the Nordic region and the Baltic states. Stockmann sold Seppälä on 1 April 2015 to Seppälä's CEO Eveliina Melentjeff and her husband Timo Melentjeff. In September 2015, Stockmann sold the Akateeminen kirjakauppa bookstore to Bonnier Books AB media. In February 2016, Stockmann sold its operations in Russia to Reviva Holdings. Stockmann continued to own and operate Nevsky Centre in Saint Petersburg until it was sold in January 2019. On January 1, 2017, Stockmann sold Hobby Hall to SGN Group. In 2017, the company sold its food division, Stockmann Herkku, to S Group for €27 million. In May 2018, the company sold Kirjatalo, the building opposite their flagship store in Helsinki which houses the Academic Bookstore, for €108 million. In March 2019, CEO Lauri Veijalaine resigned. In June 2019, the company announced 150 layoffs.
