EMD purchasing alliance strengthens its position with Finnish market leader

From 2026, Finnish market leader S Group will join the EMD Retail Group purchasing alliance for negotiations with multinational brand manufacturers – but not for the purchase of private label products.

Dominant position

S Group is the largest cooperative in Finland, with 84% of all Finnish households as cooperative members. The group has a strong presence in the Finnish food retail market with more than 1,000 stores under three formats: 80 Prisma hypermarkets, 463 S-market supermarkets and 413 neighbourhood stores under the Sale and Alepa brand names. This gives the group a market share of 48.8%. S Group is also the Finnish market leader in restaurants and hotels, petrol stations and specialist shops.

S Group is joining EMD’s Retail Group, which provides so-called “on top” services to multinational A-brand manufacturers. EMD also purchases private label products for its members, including the Belgian Colruyt, the Dutch Superunie, the Italian ESD, the German RTG and the Swedish Axfood. However, private labels are not included in the collaboration with S Group, the press release emphasises. Earlier this summer, the retail alliance also welcomed new members from Poland.