S Group from Finland joins EMD's Retail Group from 2026 /The international retail alliance EMD continues to strengthen its position in Scandinavian retail markets

S Group will join EMD’s Retail Group which implements cross-border services and marketing concepts in partnership with leading multinational A-brand manufacturers.

In the Retail Group, S Group will collaborate with selected prominent and successful retail companies in their respective home countries, including the Euromadi Alfa Group from Spain, ESD Italia, Superunie from the Netherlands, Axfood from Sweden, Dagrofa from Denmark, RTG International from Germany and Unitas, the new constituted group of leading Polish retailers.

The core tasks for the EMD Retail Group members and new member S Group are clearly defined: promoting and marketing established and highly sought-after top brand products (including country-specific innovations and variations of these A-brands) that are essential for customers in international retail. The EMD Retail Group cooperates with the most renowned manufacturers in the industry, including these A-brands.

The S Group is the Nr. 1 player in Finland.

S Group is the largest cooperative in Finland, with 84% of all Finnish households as co-op members. The group has a strong presence in the Finnish grocery retail market. With over 1’000 stores across 3 formats: 80 Prisma hypermarkets, 463 S-market supermarkets and 413 convenience stores under the Sale and Alepa brands, the group has a market share of 48,8%.

In addition to grocery retail, S Group is the market leader in Finland in restaurants and hotels, petrol stations and specialty stores.

S Group's recent inclusion in the EMD Retail Group highlights the ongoing strength of the partnership in the international retail sector.

Arttu Laine, COO and Executive Vice President S Group, commented on the membership of the Retail Group: 'We are delighted to join this unique group of retailers who work closely with the international A-brand industry. The cooperative and balanced approach adopted by EMD is in alignment with our vision of building and successfully continuing business with our industry partners.' 

Philippe Gruyters, Managing Director of EMD, is also very pleased: ‘With such a prominent Finnish retailer like S Group, we can further expand our strong offering in the very dynamic Scandinavian market.'

The cooperation between S Group and EMD is strictly limited to the EMD Retail Group. The sourcing of Private Label products is not in the scope of the collaboration.

About EMD:

European Marketing Distribution AG, headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, has been recognised in the consumer goods industry as an efficient and powerful partner for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) since 1989. In particular, it develops and procures highly efficient and sustainably produced private label concepts for the benefit of consumers. The EMD head office also supports and realises global partnerships in the area of on-top agreements with the largest brand manufacturers.

Including the associate member Lotte from South Korea, the EMD member companies in Europe and Asia currently represent an external retail consumer turnover of approx. 200 billion euros in 16 countries.

With the acquisition of the new members in Poland and Finland, two main European markets will be added to the network in 2026.

The actual member companies of European Marketing Distribution (EMD) are active in the following markets:

Austria: MARKANT	Netherlands: Superunie
Belgium: Colruyt	Norway: Unil/NorgesGruppen
Czech Republic: MARKANT	Portugal: EuromadiPort
Denmark: Dagrofa	Slovakia: MARKANT
France: Francap	South Korea: Lotte
Germany: RTG International	Spain: Euromadi
Italy: ESD Italia	Sweden: Dagab/Axfood
Luxemburg: Colruyt	Switzerland: MARKANT

 In addition to South Korea and Japan, associate member Lotte is also active in the Vietnamese and Indonesian markets.