The broker will come to Arild Aanestad’s stores in Stavanger already tomorrow for an inspection. The shop owner was expecting bad news today. Last week, a number of convenience stores sent out a distress call that many were approaching the brink of bankruptcy. Today, SV and the government agreed on the electricity subsidy scheme for business. Convenience stores in crisis now receive an extra grant of NOK 23 million to compensate for high electricity prices. – We must have living villages throughout the country. That’s why we need the convenience stores. We have now put in place a manual calculation for the convenience stores to compensate for high electricity prices, says Geir Pollestad, fiscal policy spokesperson for the Center Party. But for Aanestad it helps little. His stores fall outside the electricity support, as he is not part of the Merkur stores. This means that the support only applies to outlying shops. – The price of electricity affects the small shops in the cities as much as in the fjords and on the islands, he explains. Must consider selling the shops Last week he had a visit from a broker to inspect his shops. Tomorrow he will be visited again. – I am now strongly considering selling everything that I have been doing for over 30 years, he says. The decision will not be easy for Aanestad, who is strongly connected to his companies. – I have been in Joker for many years, so it is clear that it means a lot. It’s not a job – it’s a way of life, says the shop owner. The electricity prices for the shops in Aanestad have increased fivefold in one year. Photo: Elise Pedersen / news But the lifestyle has started to get expensive in the last year. And the electricity bills continue to rise. – Electricity bills have increased from around 50,000 to almost 280,000 in just one year. It doesn’t float around, explains Aanestad. – Forced to fight A few years ago it was completely unthinkable that it was the electricity prices that could mean the hook on the door for his shops. – It is very special and something I never thought I would experience. They must come up with more measures if it is to help anything, believes the shop owner. Aanestad hopes he will be allowed to keep his shops. – I just have to keep calm and try to find the best solution. I haven’t quite found it yet, says Aanestad and adds: – We fight as best we can, we have to.
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Arild Aanestad is considering selling his Joker stores – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
