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Estonia: Sotka to open its first furniture house in South Estonia
¡¾2002.09.06¡¿

Estonia: Sotka to open its first furniture house in South Estonia

Finland's Sotka will open on August 30, a 20-million-kroon (EUR 1.28 million), 2,000-square-meter furniture store in Tartu in South Estonia. The opening of the shop marks the completion of Phase Two of the biggest local shopping center, Lounakeskus.

The furniture store to be opened in Tartu is the second Sotka store in Estonia. Sotka opened its 6,000 square meter furniture house in Peterburi Maantee in Tallinn in 1999. Last year it accounted for an estimated 15% of the home furniture sold in Estonia.

In 2001, the Estonian home furniture market, including kitchen furniture and hotel supply, made up 400 million kroons and grew by 6% year-on-year.

The furniture market is expected to continue its widening and Niko Romanainen, board chairman of Indooor Group (which is the proprietory firm of Sotka stores), declared that in the near future Sotka will expand in Tallinn and open its second store in Riga.

The total floor area of Lounakeskus, the biggest shopping center in South Estonia, is more than 15,000 square meters, and 13,000 square meters of it will be used as commercial premises. The cost of the project amounts to 100 million kroons. (EUR 1 = EEK 15.65).