STOCKMANN SOLD THE REAL ESTATE HOUSING T

STOCKMANN plc STOCK EXCHANGE BULLETIN March 28, 2003, 16.15 p.m.

STOCKMANN SOLD THE REAL ESTATE HOUSING THE DEPARTMENT STORE IN TAPIOLA

EARNINGS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2003 TO BE IMPROVED CLEARLY

In line with the company's strategy aiming at freeing up capital, Stockmann has sold the department store real estate in Espoo's Tapiola at a price topping EUR 36 million to a subsidiary fully owned by Wereldhave N.V., a Dutch real estate investment company. Wereldhave N.V. also owns in Finland the Shopping Centre Itäkeskus in Helsinki. At the same time Stockmann has taken the sold premises on a long-term lease from the new owner for the use of the Tapiola department store. The household sales group at Stockmann's department store in Tapiola has even up till now operated in leased premises, for which the landlord is Oy Etola Ab. The tenancy for these premises is as long as the lease taken for the premises that were sold now and will continue unchanged.

As reported in connection with the transaction of Itäkeskus Shopping Centre, the strategy of Wereldhave is to increase the company's real estate possession in Finland by acquiring new and fairly new real estates at good locations, and today's transaction is in line with this strategy. Stockmann feels contentment with the fact that the department store premises in Tapiola are transferred to an owner with an interest in developing Tapiola as a shopping location in the long run.

Due to the transaction Stockmann Group's earnings for the first quarter of 2003 are going to improve clearly on the corresponding period last year. The target for the full year 2003 presented in the Board Report on Operations for the profit before extraordinary items to be higher than the figure reported for 2002, remains unchanged.

STOCKMANN plc

Hannu Penttilä CEO

DISTRIBUTION Helsinki Exchanges Principal media