Editing General store (section)

===Finland===
[[File:Kokkilan Uusi sekatavarakauppa.jpg|thumb|General store in [[Angelniemi]], 1930.]]
[[File:Yttilän kyläkauppa.jpg|thumb|A village store (''Sepon kauppa''; or "Seppo's shop") in [[Yttilä]], [[Säkylä]], in August 2011. This particular store was closed in 2014.]]

General stores (''sekatavarakauppa'') first appeared in Finland in 1859 when fixed shop retailers were allowed to set up shops in rural towns for the first time. Prior to that, authorised trade in rural products other than those produced in the same region depended on city travel, open-air markets and fairs.<ref>Kaarniranta, Kim: "Elämää rahaa käärien ja velkoen" : Pohjois-Karjalan maaseudun sekatavarakauppiaat ja heidän velallisensa 1860- ja 1870-luvuilla. Väitöskirja : Joensuun yliopisto. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2001. {{ISBN|951-746-302-2}}.</ref> A related type of store is the village store (''kyläkauppa''), typically located in sparsely populated towns, which still performs many similar functions to general stores. As in many other countries, their numbers were greatly reduced with the advent of supermarkets, from over 3400 such shops in 1980 to 241 in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/kauppoja-kuolee-noin-30-kaupan-vuosivauhdilla-monkijat-jatsarit-tai-hifi-laitteet-pitavat-kylakauppoja-hengissa/84973fdd-776c-3371-a1a1-99ac2b29f0ff|title="Kauppoja kuolee noin 30 kaupan vuosivauhdilla" – Mönkijät, jatsarit tai hifi-laitteet pitävät kyläkauppoja hengissä|last=Mainio|first=Tapio|website=Talouselämä|date=24 November 2018 |language=fi|access-date=2020-02-24}}</ref>