Finnish retailer S Group (SOK) has announced a 2.7% rise in tax-free retail sales for the first half of 2018, posting sales of €5.6 billion.
It also saw strong figures in grocery sales, which grew by 5.8%, to €3.6 billion.
In a statement, Taavi Heikkilä, CEO of SOK, explained that the warm weather is partly responsible for the recorded growth.
"Our total sales continued to increase steadily in early 2018, and the effects of the hot early summer on customer activity are particularly evident," Heikkilä commented.
Online grocery sales posted a 30% increase year on year, building on the good figures that the group saw last year in H1.
However, some of its divisions registered a noticeable drop, such as its department and speciality stores, which saw sales fall by 3.1%.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
