Markku Hautala, a shopkeeper at the famous K-Citymarket in Järvenpää: "We showcase our professionalism with work clothes"

Shopkeeper at the world's best store: "Workwear showcases our professionalism"

Järvenpää's K-Citymarket is already a phenomenon worldwide. In November, the store, led by Markku Hautala, was chosen as the best store in the world in an international competition. The sushi counter, ice cream factory, deli and meat cutting shop, among other things, attract customers to Järvenpää from much wider areas than their own locality. Customers are served at the fresh produce counters wearing Medanta uniforms.

In November, Järvenpää's K-Citymarket was named the world's best store at The IGD Store of the Year Award gala held in London, in the Store of the Year series. This is quite an achievement, as no other store from Finland has ever even made it to the finals of the competition.

Earlier this year, the Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture awarded the 2019 Lentävä Lautanen Food Culture Award to Järvenpää K-Citymarket. According to the reasons, Hautala's store combines grocery store and restaurant expertise, price, quality and seasonal awareness, and respect for food producers and customers. The jury praised Hautala for bringing good taste to the center of grocery shopping.

The long-standing retailer also invests in good taste and quality in its employees' uniforms. The store, which was also chosen as K-Citymarket of the Year, has been wearing uniforms designed in collaboration with Medanta since last autumn at its meat, fish and sushi counters and seasonal academy.

"We worked with Italian designers to create a new look for the departments and noticed that the chain's traditional workwear did not fit the atmosphere of the counters. Our restaurant manager Laura Väisänen has designed the workwear for the hall side in collaboration with Medanta, and our restaurateur Matti Jämsén has designed the workwear for the kitchen," says Hautala.

Spacious pockets hold a lot of stuff

According to the merchant, the most important thing in work clothes for fresh produce counters is, in addition to fit, ease of care. Stains cannot be avoided, so they must be easy to wash off. The pockets must be able to hold items such as pens, a cutter and a phone. The colour also plays an important role in creating the atmosphere: people work at the meat counter in blue, at the fish counter in white and at the sushi counter in red. The colours also take into account that the stains that get on the clothes during the day during work would be as visible as possible.

There are a total of just over 30 employees working at the counters. In total, there are over 150 employees working in the store and the surrounding restaurants. The store is among the ten largest Citymarkets in Finland. “Workwear has to fit in with the environment. We are a visually very different store compared to most Citymarkets,” Hautala continues.

One surprise emerged during the planning phase, but it was also quickly resolved. Working at the meat counter is such a cold job that warm jackets were ordered in addition to traditional work clothes.

"The meat is cut at four degrees and the temperature in the warehouse is zero. You can't swing around in short sleeves there," Hautala laughs.

Hautala is also ordering Medanta uniforms for the employees of the new Deli that will open next to the store. They are still in the design phase.

“All employees in the pizza department, café and ice cream factory will receive new work clothes. We want to use the clothes to communicate which group the employee belongs to and who the customer can turn to. At the same time, we want to highlight the employee’s professionalism.”

Employee turnover must be taken into account

The garments are made of technical Medanta Flex material, the main raw material of which is polyester. Polyester wicks moisture away from the skin. The bandage also contains cotton to provide warmth and elastane, which makes the garment flexible and adapts to the user's movements. The material is important for its antibacterial properties, breathability and performance comparable to sports textiles.

The work clothes are unisex, and the employee can wear their own shoes with them, as long as they are suitable for the work environment and safe.

The restaurant has a laundry system that washes the employees' clothes. Other employees wash their own clothes. All employees have at least two outfits, but those working at the service counter have more because their clothes get dirty more easily. Work clothes last about two years in use.

According to retailer Markku Hautala, when designing workwear, it is also necessary to take into account the turnover of employees. During the planning, we consider which workwear can be combined from the clothes already in the range and which workwear will be tailored to suit each employee individually. The trousers are the same for almost all employees, so it is easy to order more. The fish counter's outfits are combined from products already in Medanta's range.

“The employees working in the store are also still wearing visually similar outfits designed by the chain,” says Hautala.

Aiming for a long-term partnership

Hautala steps through the gates of his store and heads first to the fruit and vegetable section. The atmosphere is indeed different from that of most large supermarkets. In front of the fresh produce counters there is a corridor that can be crossed like a pedestrian crossing. Greenery grows next to the designer lamps hanging above the fruit and vegetables. Customers can squeeze their own fresh juice from the fruit along the wall.

“For example, the restaurant has no warehouse at all, but employees pick fresh ingredients directly from the shelves about seven times a day,” Hautala says.

At the meat counter, customers are served by blue-shirted butchers Kimmo Eilola and Tero Leikas . The red work shirt of sushi artisan Kumiko Onodera-Lemmetti , who works at the sushi counter, stands out from afar as she carries full sushi trays from the kitchen to replace empty ones.

"I really like my work outfit. It fits well and is a cheerful color," Onodera-Lemmetti says in praise.

In addition to the employees, the retailer is pleased with the new work uniforms. He describes the collaboration with Medanta as a long-term partnership.

“It's nice to collaborate with a company that really knows how to and wants to be part of our journey and development.”

Discover the Medanta CHEF collection

K-Citymarket Järvenpää