A jazz band plays Christmas music. It may seem staged, but it is completely coincidental that the musicians have lined up outside the entrance to Rema 1000 in Valby in Copenhagen just this morning. It is nevertheless a special day for the employees. They will showcase the shop of Rema 1000’s founder and owner, Odd Reitan. TOUR: Merchant Max Skov Hansen shows father and son Reitan around the store in Valby in Copenhagen. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news It has been a few weeks since it became known that Rema 1000 is making a significant dent in the Danish grocery market. The acquisition of 114 stores from the German chain Aldi’s Danish operations will probably make the Norwegian discount chain the largest, at least in terms of market share, also in Denmark. Cut into the sea Odd Reitan, his son Ole Robert Reitan, who is also one of the tops in the company, and the rest of the delegation are shown into the store. One of the first things Reitan senior notices, and comments on, is the light. – You have very nice light here. It makes the goods shine. – That’s great to hear, says merchant Max Skov Hansen, showing father and son further into the shop. Rema 1000 started cautiously on the Danish market in 1994. It wasn’t until just over ten years later that the venture gained momentum. The chain now has 363 stores spread across Denmark (a country which is smaller in area than the old Finnmark county). Professor at Copenhagen Business Scholl, Mogens Bjerre points to two challenges Rema 1000 must solve. RESEARCHER: Mogens Bjerre sees more reefs in the sea for Rema 1000 in Denmark. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news They need a permit from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority because the acquisition will make them dominant in the market. In a relatively short time, they have to find 114 people spread across the country who are willing to invest time and money in building a new store. – We see that Rema 1000 is established in places that would otherwise not have a store if you were to employ a store manager because it simply would not be financially sound. The merchants often work 70-80 hours a week and that is part of the reason why Rema 1000 can establish itself where they actually do, says Bjerre. Strong brand name But Rema 1000 must be said to be a Danish success story already. In recent years, they have topped a number of awards. Among other things, as Denmark’s strongest brand name – i.e. stronger than, for example, Ikea, Lego, Arla, DR and all other competitors on the grocery market. BALLERUP: Rema 1000 is already well established in Denmark. Here from a shop in Ballerup west of Copenhagen. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix Liselotte Sabroe / NTB – We are trying to create a small convenience store for people who live in a big city. We are people’s pantries – most people do not have large fridges and freezers at home and therefore many often shop in the store. We must get to know the customer and know which products it is important for him to have in the store, explains the grocer at the rema shop in Valby. Odd Reitan listens attentively. He believes that philosophy is much of the reason why Rema 1000 has been a great success in Denmark. That, as well as the fact that local merchants themselves invest in and own the shops. VALBY: Rema 1000 in Valby in Copenhagen has been named shop of the year in Denmark twice. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news – We have organized the Rema chain very much based on self-interest, where we have merchants who each run their own store under contract with us. That is much of the reason for the success in both Norway and Denmark. And it suits Danish culture, you know, to run for yourself – to be your own merchant, says Odd Reitan. The Germans who went bankrupt Now comes the biggest expansion in the Danish market. The German grocery chain Aldi has been in Denmark for 45 years. But the last few years have been difficult financially. In 2021, the deficit was almost DKK 400 million. They cannot afford to lose that and have therefore decided to close the business in Denmark. ALD (R) IN MORE: Aldi withdraws from Denmark after several years of losses. Photo: BO AMSTRUP / AFP And then Odd Reitan was ready with the checkbook to buy vacant shop premises. But in the 70s, everything was different. Odd Reitan tells about the study trip to Germany which was the start of Rema 1000 in Norway. At the time, he ran some convenience stores in Trondheim. He did not think he was very successful, but had heard of the brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht who were steadily gaining market share with the Aldi chain. – They had succeeded in something tremendous. So I thought that here I have to go down and have a look, sKutteå we traveled to Germany to visit Aldi and it was a great experience. That was the turning point for me. Then it was all about absorbing as many impulses as possible there and then going home and translating it into Norwegian. And it eventually became the Rema 1000, he says passionately. ROLE MODEL: The Aldi chain was a role model for Odd Reitan. Now he is buying the Danish store the chain is leaving behind. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news – Had it not been for Aldi, there would have been no Rema. I think the Danes like to try something new. Odd Reitan tells about how the store manager in Germany presented his strategy to cut operating costs in order to be able to push prices down. – I remember the store manager raising his arm like that, says Reitan, using his fist and holding his right hand up in the air. – As if he was holding a fan. He also said: “You understand, mister Reitan, that here it is necessary to cut the costs right down to the bone. Then you can sell cheap”, he says and pretends to take a knife into the imaginary final year. Odd Reitan went home and created what is now Norway’s and will become Denmark’s largest grocery chain. STUDY TRIP: Odd Reitan tells about the study trip to Germany that laid the foundation for the Rema 1000 chain. A success that also gets attention in professional circles. Mogens Bjerre has done a lot of research on grocery chains in particular. He believes that much of the reason why Rema 1000 is successful is the business model. Local merchants who own large parts of the store and work on contract for Rema 1000. At the same time, Bjerre believes that Rema 1000 has succeeded in becoming a chain that most people like. – The Danes are also curious about new concepts and we probably also have a greater openness to foreign chains here, says Bjerre. – There are also stories about Rema 1000 merchants who know their customers by first name and they also have a reputation for being good at looking after their employees, he says. PRODUCT SELECTION: Rema 1000 has established itself as a strong brand in Denmark. Now they are the largest in the country. Photo: Joakim Reigstad / news Hope he makes money dd Reitan himself has, at least not as it appears, any particularly big concerns related to the growth in Denmark. Nor the fact that he is taking over shop premises where the business has been running at a thunderous loss in recent years. He will continue to run his race. And stay true to your concept. – We are preparing for the remake concept that is in Denmark. We are not making any changes to it. Then we’ll see what it does to the turnover. – We hope that it will increase. We expect it, he says with a laugh. Aldi is withdrawing from Denmark in January. If permission for the acquisition is granted, remodeling of the stores could start fairly quickly in 2023.
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“You have to cut costs right down to the bone” – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
