S-Group should merge with Kesko for a Win-Win-Win for Finland.

Kesko and S-Group continue to dominate the news with their low prices and joint market share soaring above 80%. Having them merge together would be a good for Finland because it is easy to see the advantages: 1. They could combine their logistics facilities together into one huge digital system that would propel Finland as a world class player for the Internet of Things. It would introduce cutting-edge IT solutions and enormous cost savings. 2. They could dramatically reduce redundant shops and city markets – huge cost savings too. 3. National coverage for home deliveries and loyalty programs would benefit from cost efficiencies through economies of scale. 4. Advertising on TV and in newspapers could be stopped. There would be little point with just one shop for consumers – it could just be 100% digital, which is virtually free! 5. Size also gives them bargaining power for imported products like fruit, vegetables and consumer goods – we all want lower prices from foreign suppliers. 6. The new champion could be understanding towards Finnish farmers and food producers on offer to pay higher prices. It would be nice to let farmers off the hook, after being punished all these years with ever lower prices? Cheaper food imports could allow us to pay a little more for world-class Finnish food. 7. The government could close down the competition authorities since there would be no competition to protect. They have never been useful for consumers anyway. That would result in big tax reductions, something that all the political parties promise but seldom get a chance to deliver. Just recall the last election! 8. Fewer shops and logistic centers mean staff reductions. A bigger supply of trained staff means that they could lower wages to more realistic levels. Again a big cost reduction for consumers. 9. A retail giant could run its own bank, its own gas stations, its own digital media company, its own hospitals and much more, all with huge market shares. 10. All of this should result in securing a few Finnish oligarchs for a change, instead of them living in Russia, Ukraine and Moldova. 11. And while we are about it we should close LIDL because they would not be able to deliver the same cost reductions. In any case we all know that they are a nuisance because they keep on opening up low cost shops that interfere with the profitability of our national heroes. Yes, we should definitely support EK, the three “S” in this endeavor if we want lower food prices. It is a fact that we all know that duopolies must be great for the economy because we already have so many running things here now. If the civil servants and politicians think this is a good idea then we must accept them at their word. And let’s hope the True Finns manage to stop EU competition authorities from interfering in Finnish market solutions. It would be a disaster for consumers if the EU were to demand more competition rather than less.