Most Finnish rental flats are let unfurnished, so most people who move here end up furnishing them from scratch. The market changed in February 2026, when the country's biggest furniture group went bankrupt, and the advice people give from memory has not caught up.
What happened to Asko and Sotka
Indoor Group Oy, which owned the Asko and Sotka chains, filed for bankruptcy on 9 February 2026, together with Insofa Oy, the factory that made Asko's furniture. Helsinki District Court opened bankruptcy proceedings the next day. Between them, the two chains had close to 90 stores and were the default answer to 'where do I buy a sofa?'; they are no longer an answer.
If you paid for something and never received it, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) says:
- Paid by credit card, or with credit offered for the purchase: claim the refund from the card or credit company.
- Paid any other way: your claim goes into the bankruptcy, to the court-appointed administrator.
- An unpaid invoice or instalment for goods never delivered: do not pay it.
KKV's consumer advice line cannot help with bankruptcies, so follow the administrator's announcements instead.
The chains that are trading
Budget end
IKEA has five full-size stores: Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Raisio (next to Turku) and Kuopio. A smaller-format IKEA shop opened in Lahti on 17 September 2026, in the Maili shopping centre: it stocks about 2,000 of the most popular products to take home, with the rest of the range available to order for delivery or collection. Jyväskylä and Oulu have planning studios only — you can design a kitchen and place an order there, but you cannot take anything away with you.
JYSK is the Danish chain with the widest spread: 92 stores across Finland, the first of which opened in Turku in 1995. It sells beds, mattresses, textiles, garden furniture and simple flat-pack pieces at below-average prices. The range turns over quickly, so if you like something, do not wait a month to buy it.
Masku (Maskun Kalustetalo) calls itself Finland's largest domestic family-owned furniture retailer and runs 43 stores. Mid-priced sofas, beds and bedroom sets are its core products.
Mid and upper range
ISKU Koti is the retail arm of ISKU, a family-owned manufacturer in Lahti that is nearly a hundred years old and still makes its furniture there. It went through a corporate restructuring programme that was confirmed in February 2026, closed six unprofitable stores in the process, and has since opened a new store in the Turku area, in Raisio. Prices are above average; seasonal offers narrow the gap.
Vepsäläinen sells designer furniture and interior brands, including BoConcept, and is expensive. It has stores in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Raisio, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Vaasa and Rovaniemi.
Artek was founded in Helsinki in 1935 by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl, and still sells Aalto's stools, chairs and lamps alongside pieces by newer designers. The flagship store, Artek Helsinki, is on Keskuskatu. Artek 2nd Cycle buys back and resells pre-owned Artek and other Finnish design pieces — it is the place to look for an old Aalto stool with a known history.
Second-hand furniture
With Asko and Sotka gone, the cheap end of the new market is thinner, and the second-hand market is where many flats are furnished.
- Tori.fi — the national classifieds site, with a large furniture and interiors category. Most furniture is collection only; some listings offer ToriDiili delivery. People moving out often give furniture away for free.
- Kirpputori — flea markets, ranging from self-service halls where sellers rent a table to charity shops. Fida runs second-hand shops across the country that sell home furnishings as well as clothes.
- Pääkaupunkiseudun Kierrätyskeskus — the capital region's non-profit reuse centre, with stores in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.
- Artek 2nd Cycle — for classic Finnish design with a known history.
For anything bigger than a chair, you will need transport. Van hire (pakettiauto) is easy to find in any town; compare prices on the day, because they vary significantly by weekday and season.
When furniture is cheaper
Furniture sales in Finland tend to cluster around a few periods:
| When | What to expect |
|---|---|
| January | Winter sales, end-of-line stock from last year's ranges |
| Second half of July | Summer sales, garden furniture cleared |
| Black Friday, 27 November 2026 | Mattresses, sofas, appliances |
| Any time | Muuttoale and remonttiale — clearance before a shop moves or refits |
Outside those weeks, the realistic discount is on a display model, a damaged box or a large order. In the budget chains, prices are set centrally and there is no room to haggle.
Delivery and the stairwell
Delivery is almost always charged separately from the furniture, and carrying it up the stairs and assembling it are separate services again. Before you buy a sofa, measure the stairwell, the turn on the landing and the flat's front door: older Finnish blocks of flats often have narrow stairs and small lifts, and a sofa that does not fit is a common and expensive mistake.
Related
Furnishing comes after the flat itself — see finding a flat in Finland and student housing. The rest of the first month is covered in first steps after moving to Finland, and everything else is under living in Finland.
