Ärrä plans 40–60 new stores for 2027

Reitan Convenience Finland plans to open around 40–60 new ärrä stores in Finland in 2027. According to the company’s press release issued on 2 November, the concept launched in the summer will first expand in November and December to locations including Jyväskylä, Rovaniemi, Turku, Espoo and Kuopio. R-kioski outlets will continue operating alongside the new ärrä stores.

Next year’s plans continue the concept’s expansion

Ärrä’s opening plans for 2027 mark the next stage in rolling out the new store concept across Finland. Reitan Convenience Finland says it will announce further details of next year’s stores later. The current announcement therefore does not include a town-by-town list or individual opening dates for the planned 40–60 stores.

The concept launched in summer 2026. The first pilot store opened in Helsinki’s Sanomatalo building on 10 June, and the company announced a wider rollout in September. According to the November press release, seven new stores had opened during early autumn. The newly published year-end schedule takes the expansion forward while the company is already planning the following year’s openings.

Ärrä’s range centres on a broad selection of food and drink to go. The company describes the concept as designed particularly for city dwellers on the move. This is the expansion of a distinct store concept, rather than an announcement that all R-kioski outlets will be converted to ärrä stores.

For the franchising community, the key development to watch is the planned scale of the concept in 2027. The geographical distribution of the openings will only become clear in later announcements. The current plan sets out store numbers, but should not be read as a list of confirmed franchise opportunities.

Five new cities on the year-end schedule

The November–December expansion will bring ärrä to five new cities: Jyväskylä, Rovaniemi, Turku, Espoo and Kuopio. The published schedule includes openings in these cities as well as new locations in Helsinki and Tampere.

Three openings are listed for Jyväskylä. The store at Asemakatu 5 is scheduled for 6 November, followed by the Matkakeskus transport interchange on 25 November and Nova Hospital on 3 December. The Rovaniemi store, at Koskikatu 20, is scheduled to open on 12 November.

In Turku, the first listed location is the Market Square, with an opening date of 2 December. The bus station opening follows on 18 December. Kuopio’s railway station store is scheduled for 4 December, and the Espoo Hospital store for 9 December.

The openings across these five cities are therefore spread over several weeks. Rather than a single nationwide launch date, the published programme sets out a phased expansion from early November to late December. The company says all dates are provisional and subject to change.

Locations within the same city also have their own schedules. For example, almost a month separates the planned openings at Asemakatu and Nova Hospital in Jyväskylä. In Turku, the Market Square and bus station stores are likewise scheduled for different dates. Anyone following a local opening should therefore check the latest information for that specific address.

Stations and hospitals feature prominently in the opening list

Public transport hubs and hospitals dominate the year-end list. In Helsinki, openings are scheduled at the station at Tripla and Herttoniemi metro station on 11 November, followed by the railway station on 16 November. The Kamppi shopping centre store is scheduled for 25 November.

Helsinki’s December list includes Itäkeskus metro station on 8 December, Kaisaniemi metro station on 11 December and Kamppi’s long-distance coach terminal on 16 December. Openings are also planned at street locations: Välimerenkatu 14 in Jätkäsaari, Viides linja 10 in Kallio, Yliopistonkatu 7 in Kluuvi and Helsinginkatu 2 in Harju.

In Tampere, the schedule includes Tays Central Hospital on 5 November and Hatanpään valtatie 2 on 4 December. Together with Nova Hospital in Jyväskylä and Espoo Hospital, this means the programme includes hospital locations in several cities. The location list gives a practical illustration of the company’s description of a concept aimed at customers on the move.

The press release headline refers to 20 new stores by the end of the year, but the published address list contains 21 locations. When tracking individual openings, the address-specific schedule and any updates are therefore what matter. The plan for around 40–60 stores in 2027 is separate from this year-end list.

R-kioski outlets will continue alongside ärrä

Reitan Convenience Finland says R-kioski outlets will continue operating alongside the new ärrä stores, offering a wide range of everyday services across Finland. The announcement thus describes two brands operating in parallel: the expanding ärrä concept and the continuing provision of R-kioski services.

The Finnish company is part of the international Reitan Convenience group. Its chains also include Narvesen in Norway, Latvia and Lithuania, Pressbyrån and PBX in Sweden, and 7-Eleven in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. In Finland, the group’s brands are R-kioski and ärrä.

The next significant development in the 2027 plan will be confirmation of the towns, cities and individual locations. The November announcement provides a target range for store numbers, while the programme for the end of 2026 already gives addresses and provisional dates.

Practical note: Follow location-specific announcements for 2027 and check year-end opening dates separately. A planned store count does not, on its own, indicate franchisee recruitment or confirm that an individual outlet will open.