Stockmann Snapshot
Finns have been stocking up at Stockmann since 1862 -- and these days, so are others throughout Scandinavia, Russia, and the Baltic region. The retailing group runs about a dozen department stores and hundreds of other shops in those areas through four divisions: Department Store (generating the highest percentage of sales), Hobby Hall, and large women's fashion chains Seppälä and Lindex. The group also sells fashion through its licensed Zara and Bestseller stores, and it runs academic bookstores, beauty stores, and other specialty shops. The Hobby Hall unit is Finland's largest mail-order sales company and online store. The acquisition of Lindex in late 2007 doubled the number of the company's stores.