S Group's vision for strategic transformation: 'Your Own Store'

摘要

In 2005, S Group - an international, multi-format, multi-industry, grocery retailer and service provider of Finnish origin, formed in 1904 as a network of customer cooperatives - was facing a strategic turning point. Like most of the European retail sector, the relatively small Finnish market was severely challenged by an increasing number of international retailers enjoying the advantages of global buying power. Because these competitors were relentlessly focused on price there was an increasing pressure for S Group to transform itself strategically - starting by identifying a set of difficult-to-imitate, non-price advantages to address the new competitive situation.