Stock Exchange Releases
30.10.2006
The Tulikivi Group will be centralizing Finnish fireplace sales in its own specialized showrooms from the beginning of next year. Tulikivi and Kermansavi fireplaces will be carried by over 30 Tulikivi showrooms. The move aims to increase sales, cost- effectiveness and the Group’s market share in Finland.
From the beginning of 2007, a total of over thirty Tulikivi and Kermansavi fireplace showrooms will merge into a new distribution channel – the Tulikivi showroom chain, which will be expanded to forty-five showrooms.
The Tulikivi Group acquired Kermansavi Oy in spring 2006. The current distribution channel and fireplace business integration will bring synergy benefits and bolster the Tulikivi brand. It seeks to increase sales, cost-effectiveness and the Group’s market share in Finland.
The Tulikivi showrooms will offer customers professional service in all aspects of fireplace purchase, and both Tulikivi’s soapstone fireplaces and Kermansavi’s ceramic tiled fireplaces will soon be found under the same roof. Tulikivi is the market leader in heat-retaining fireplaces and the popularity of Kermansavi’s distinctive fireplaces has surged in recent years.
Tulikivi’s professional fireplace installer network will also continue to serve customers. Finland’s approximately 150 fireplace installers make home visits and provide customers with comprehensive fireplace installation services.
The changes mean that after December 31, 2006, major retail chains like K-Rauta, Rautia, Rautanet, Agrimarket, Hartman, Carlson and Bauhaus will no longer sell Tulikivi fireplaces.
This change in the fireplace business distribution channel will not however affect Tulikivi’s natural stone products or Kermansavi’s stoneware, which will continue to be sold through current channels.
TULIKIVI CORPORATION
Juha Sivonen Managing Director
For additional information, contact: Managing Director Juha Sivonen, tel. +358 207 636 280, and Marketing Director Heikki Vauhkonen, Tulikivi Corporation, tel. +358 207 636 555.
Distribution: Helsinki Stock Exchange, principal media
A listed family company, Tulikivi Corporation and its subsidiaries form the Tulikivi Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of heat- retaining fireplaces. The Group is known for its Tulikivi soapstone fireplaces and natural stone products as well as its Kermansavi tiled fireplaces and utility ceramics. The Group’s sales amount to approximately EUR 75 million, about half of which is accounted for by exports. The Group owns seven production plants and employs about 700 people. www.tulikivi.com