Suomalainen Kirjakauppa will shut down it's smaller city centre branch at the beginning of next year to concentrate on the Rotuaari shop.

Until the opening of Stockmann's bookshop Akateeminen Karjakauppa a few years ago, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa was the only large bookshop in the city and sustained two branches, one on Rotuaari and the other slightly further up the road. The larger of two branches is more 'academic' and includes a basement floor dedicated to student textbooks and language dictionaries.

According to the company's manager Jarmo Oksaharju, the decision to the close the second shop has now officially been passed and two members of staff are going to have to be let go. The second shop, on the corner of Kirkkokatu and Saaristonkatu, will close in the first half of next year, before the winter is over.

According to Kaleva, different branches of Suomalainen Kirjakauppa have also been merged in other parts of Finland in an attempt to cut costs and raise 'efficiency.'

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa has long had a substantial English-language section including classic novels and the latest popular books such as Barack Obama's autobiography. Established in 1912, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa officially became Finland's largest bookshop in 1997. It maintains over 60 branches across the country including six in Helsinki.