The Stockmann department store during summer 2013.
Stockmann Helsinki Centre is a culturally significant business building and department store located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It is one of many department stores owned by the Stockmann corporation. It is the largest department store in the Nordic countries in terms of area and total sales. The store is known for carrying all the internationally recognised luxury brands, and Stockmann's enjoys a reputation as the primary high-end department store in Finland. In 2017, Stockmann Helsinki Centre was the fifth largest department store in Europe with area of 50,500 square meters.[1][2]
Stockmann's first location in Helsinki was at Pohjoisesplanadi 5. The second location of Stockmann was at Aleksanterinkatu 28 in Helsinki. Stockmann in the 1930s at Aleksanterinkatu 52.
The first department store was located next to the Market Square at Pohjoisesplanadi 5. This first department store was a general goods shop.[3]
The economic growth of the Grand Duchy of Finland was significant from the 1860s onward. The drivers behind this growth were the expansion of exports, the transition to a market economy, the widening of freedom of enterprise, the beginning of industrialisation, and the construction of infrastructure such as railways and canals. As a result of these changes, Finland gradually transformed from a self-sufficient agrarian society into an industrialising one. Population growth also continued, and urbanisation as well as internal migration intensified.[3]
In 1880, Stockmann opened a continental-style department store in the Kiseleff building at Aleksanterinkatu 28 by the Senate Square. This second department store was refined and luxurious, which changed the company’s customer base. It offered high-quality domestic and international products.[3]
As Stockmann’s operations expanded, the company began searching for new premises at the end of Aleksanterinkatu in the 1910s. Stockmann launched an architectural competition, which was won by Valter Thomé and Ivar Thomé. Both brothers died during the Finnish Civil War in 1918. Sigurd Frosterus, who had placed second in the competition, was chosen as the architect for Stockmann’s new department store. His earlier well-known work was the design of the Vanajanlinna Manor. The department store's Nordic Art Deco design was completed in 1930. Initially, a two-story section was built in 1922, which grew to four stories in 1926 and to eight stories in 1930, when the current iconic building was completed. It is located within the Gazelle block in Helsinki's Kluuvi district.[3]
In 1930, when the department store was opened, it was a modern and impressive commercial palace that symbolized European urban life.[3][4]
The department store represented restrained Art Deco and was designed to serve sales efficiently. The interior also displayed Functionalist influences, such as curved staircases. A central feature of the interior was a large atrium with a glass roof, creating an airy and open, square-like impression. The atrium was the most important part of the building, around which the spaces were arranged in mezzanine-like levels. It brought clarity and spaciousness to the entire interior of the department store.[3]
The department store’s refinements included Helsinki’s first escalators and revolving doors, which were novelties at the time. The shopping experience was complemented by the service of elevator attendants, and the store also featured a refreshment spot for customers - the Soodalähde café - which served Coca-Cola for the first time in Finland. The department store was, for its time, technologically and aesthetically advanced, offering its customers new kinds of shopping and leisure opportunities.[3]
Especially the clock at the main entrance, colloquially "Stockan kello" ("Stocka's clock"), has become a symbol of Helsinkian city culture as a popular meeting place.
The Stockmann logo represents a set of escalators, which are commonly, but wrongly believed represent the first escalators in Finland. The first escalators in Finland were installed at the Forum department store in Turku in 1926.[3]
Two bombs hit the Stockmann department store during the great bombings of 1944 during the World War II, but it survived and continued to grow after the war.[3]
Renovations and Expansions
Stockmann's atrium. The main entrance during Pride Month.A view of the department store from across Mannerheimintie.
In 1989, the Argos House, located in the same block, was incorporated into the Stockmann building. During the renovation, only the façade of the Argos House was preserved. As a result, Stockmann expanded to fill the entire block bordered by Mannerheimintie, Aleksanterinkatu, Keskuskatu, and Pohjoisesplanadi streets. The department store has seven floors, excluding the basement and the eighth floor, which houses other businesses.
A further expansion of the department store began in 2007. The project, titled Kaikkien aikojen Stockmann – Alla tiders Stockmann (“Stockmann of All Time”), was completed in 2010, increasing the retail area by 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) to a total of 50,000 square metres (540,000 sq ft). This was a particularly challenging undertaking, as it took place in the heart of Helsinki while the department store remained fully operational throughout the construction.[5]
The Argos corner of the department store.
The department store was expanded both underground and in its central area. The atrium was enclosed, adding 1,500 square metres (16,000 sq ft) of retail space across the sixth to eighth floors. On the eighth and topmost floor, a food court was added, offering seating for 950 customers and views overlooking the lower floors.
In total, 200,000 cubic metres (7,100,000 cu ft) of rock were excavated from underground. At its deepest point, the digging reached a depth of 30 metres (98 ft).
During the construction work, the elevator and escalator systems of the old department store were upgraded. After the renovation, 40 modernised elevators and escalators were in use. In addition, the lighting and air conditioning systems were improved.
Stockmann's Argos atrium in August 2025.
The new garage tripled the parking capacity to 600 vehicles. The three-story facility is connected to Ruoholahdenkatu via the central maintenance tunnel, and to the junction of Kalevankatu and Mannerheimintie.
The size of the grocery department was doubled to approximately 5,000 square metres.[5]
The total capital expenditure for the enlargement phase of the project was €198 million, in addition to significant repair and renovation work on the existing premises. The expansion was projected to increase annual sales by €50 million.[6]
Present Day
By 2016, the notion of a single, expansive retail space had come to be seen as outdated, with specialist stores having captured a substantial share of the market. While leasing premises to other businesses remained a profitable endeavour, the company’s core retail operations were no longer financially sustainable. Consequently, Stockmann commenced the outsourcing of certain departments and activities.[7]
In 2025, the department store includes a number of shop-in-shop departments and services, such as Louis Vuitton, Nespresso Boutique, XS Toys, Relove Second hand, and Lilla Floranna flower shop.[8][9]
The Stockmann department store in Helsinki has restaurants, cafés, fashion services, beauty services, interior design services, and a gift service.[2]
Food Market Herkku, formerly known as Stockmannin Herkku, is the food and beverage department located on the basement level and is renowned for its high-quality and diverse selection of foodstuffs.[10]
In 2017, Stockmann Helsinki Centre was the fifth largest department store in Europe with area of 50,500 square meters. In contrast, Harrods, the luxury department store in Knightsbridge, London, has about approximately 93,000 square meters. This makes Harrods the largest department store in Europe.[11]
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