Different kind of sports shop since 1999

Jari and Jaana Ahola have lived in Äkäslompolo, a village of seven fells, since 1994. Back then, they came to run a clothing shop at the Kaltio and Äkäshotels and a ski shop in the fell. In the spring of 1999, we decided to revive our skiing hobby and buy skis. Jari headed to buy new skis in Äkäslompolo SportShop, which Timo Luoto had founded at the Kurula site in 1995. While shopping for skis, Timo threw out an offer: “Why don’t you buy the whole shop in addition to the skis?” The skis were bought and the next day, when I went to pick up the skis, I asked Timo if he was serious about the offer. Timo thought that he was serious and during the same spring we made a deal.

From Kurula to the internet

Kurula was originally built as a residential building, so the spaces were small and practical solutions were necessary. Among other things, we dried boots in the sauna, when there was no space elsewhere. 25 years ago, the store premises were where the shoe department is today and the size of the entire building was 120m2. Since then, operations and retail space have been gradually and purposefully expanded, and several expansions have been made over the years, when the number of tourists and cottages began to grow in the Ylläs area. The latest expansion was the construction of a bicycle hall in 2021. Today, the total area of the store is 600m2 + 100m2 bicycle hall. At some point, we realized that setting up an online store would be the next important step and we opened our first online store website in 2012.

Three basic pillars of service

From the beginning, our service has been based on three basic pillars: store, equipment rental and maintenance. Our personal and independent service concept includes both top-quality sports equipment and trendy accessories for active movement and relaxed lounging. Compared to the largest chain stores, we can tailor our selection ourselves and take customer wishes into account. The slogan of our company “Different kind of sports shop” was originally heard from the customers’ mouths, and little by little, when it started to be heard from several mouths, we ourselves started to believe in it and started using the phrase.

During these years, we have been able to serve customers in three generations. Customer satisfaction and loyalty have always played an important role and it is a great feeling that we get to serve third-generation customers. This is done for the customers and if there are no satisfied customers, there is no shop either. The best thing about this job is the people we get to work with. Along the way, we have been able to create several friendships and we are extremely grateful for them. Entrepreneurship requires perseverance and a desire to develop operations, and as someone who has run a few marathons, I could describe entrepreneurship as an endurance sport, says Jari.

Family business with good staff and team spirit

The importance of good staff cannot be praised and emphasized enough. Thanks to the committed staff, the work has been pleasant. Even during the busiest season, work is at best very rewarding when a good connection between the entire staff is maintained and can be done in a good spirit. When a good team spirit is maintained between the staff, it is also transmitted to the customers.

We have been a family business from the beginning and we want to keep it that way. Our daughter Vera has been able to grow up together with Sportshop these years, as she was born the same autumn that we started our business. “Vera has practically grown up within the walls of the sports shop” and she has studied in the field and also wants to develop the company’s operations with her own skills in the future. Jaana’s daughter Minna and her spouse Jakke came to work at Sportshop in 2008 and they have been a big part of Sportshop’s development.

We started the generational change a few years ago and we hope that these 25 years are just the beginning of a long journey…

The online store is open 24/7

Wherever you live in Finland, you can conveniently shop in our online store at www.akaslompolosportshop.fi. There are plenty of seasonal offers and discontinued products on offer – and of course new items. You will find men’s clothing, women’s clothing, children’s clothing and sports equipment from quality brands in their own categories. Check out the comprehensive selection!