Rovaniemi Prisma to get new look, wider space

Prisma Rovaniemi is set for expansion and renovation resulting in a new look by the end of next year, said sources at the S Group, the operating company of the chain market.

The work begins with excavation at the Prisma site in July and is scheduled to be finished by Christmas 2018, said sources.

Cooperative society Osuuskauppa Arina is responsible for the renovation and expansion works, said the Communication Director of S group Kai Ovaskainen.

Sources at the cooperative society Osuuskauppa Arina said the cost of the refurbishing and expansion would be to the tune of EUR 20 million.

“The renovation work on the Prisma site will begin in July with land development. The work will be carried out in stages so as to avoid compromising the services. Changes inside the store will become visible at the turn of the year,” Osuuskauppa Arina Head of Marketing Maria Ylitapio told the Daily Finland.

Ympyrä-Prisma, i.e. Circle-Prisma, attracted a lot of attention during it’s opening in Rovaniemi 1994. The peculiar structure made up of several circles to build the store proved to be very functional and interesting to the customers. The last major renovation and extension work of the hypermarket was carried out in 2003, and now the centre will get a fresh new shopping environment and better services to meet the evolving needs of the customers in Lapland, Ylitapio said.

She said, “All sections inside the store as well as the surrounding commercial area on the premises will be transformed with new tenants. Outside, there will be new space for parking and car wash.”

Describing the renovation, she said for the owners of the co-operative Prisma’s modifications mean more versatile services. In terms of grocery shops, there will be close to 1,000 square meters of more shopping space, more options, and interesting brands with the familiar everyday low price-policy of the co-operatives.

Prisma Rovaniemi’s home and specialty goods section is one the biggest in Finland. Ylitapio said an exceptionally large coverage including outdoor and sports equipment will be a trademark for Prisma Rovaniemi in the future.

According to her descriptions, with renovation, the challenging parking situation the market faces now will be addressed by doubling the number of parking slots. Among the new services, there will be a car wash and a few interesting new tenants in the property.

“The specialty beauty chain Emotion will offer a range of brand cosmetics, organic cosmetics, health products, and daily cosmetics. Emotion will bring the well-known campaigns of Sokos to Rovaniemi, including 3+1 Days and Kutsu Kauneuteen. Besides Emotion, a new hairdressing salon, Tälläämö, will open right beside it. There will be 10 hairdressers, in addition to beauty treatment services. The beauty salons will offer versatile cosmetics services, such as facial and foot treatments, eyelash treatments and so on,” said Ylitapio, adding that the restaurant services will be transformed too, and a new concept – Presso and Pizza&Buffa restaurants – will be supplemented by the already familiar Hesburger chain. The number of seats in the restaurant area will be nearly double of what it is now.

With the renovation, the energy efficiency of the Prismakeskus will be significantly improved. The building will become one of the first large-scale hypermarkets to completely abandon the use of refrigerants that are harmful to the environment, both in refrigeration equipment as well as cooling the building. By integrating a carbon system based on carbon dioxide technology, the need for purchasing energy in the property will be reduced and the total energy consumption of the property will fall considerably, Ylitapio explained.