Rema opens 40 supermarkets in 2017
So far this year, Rema has opened 17 stores on a national basis. Before the year is over, the number will be more than doubled.
– We will open 40 stores. There is a much higher opening rate than ever before, except for acquisitions. Then we start to get where we should be, says Jan Frode Johansen, CEO, in Rema Franchise to Dagens Næringsliv.
According to the newspaper, Rema’s position as Norway’s biggest chain is now at stake, as Kiwi continues to close the gap.
– Some of the market developments have been characterized by lower pace of establishment than we wanted. We have taken action, but it takes time before we see the effect, Johansen says.
Coop chief Geir Inge Stokke says to the newspaper that he is surprised at Rema’s establishment level.
– The signals are that Rema establishes smaller size stores and in places they would not establish earlier. This is something we are following, Stokke says.
Rema continues to lose market shares
Co-op and Norgesgruppen take new shares, while Rema and Base prices fall, according to the new quarterly figures from the analyst Nielsen.
“We feel that we are starting to approach a normal situation. If you look at the last few months, there is no doubt that it is going the right way. What we noticed this winter was obvious, says Jan Frode Johansen, CEO of the Rema Franchise to Dagens Næringsliv.
Rema dropped 1.2 percentage points in market share in the first half to 23.7 percent. The chain is the only one of the three food giants to lose market share. The figures come despite the fact that Rema has opened 15 new stores. The decline has been estimated to be around a billion kroner.
The Norway group, on the other hand, continues to increase its share in the Norwegian food market, reports VG. They have taken a new percentage of the market and now have a market share of 43.2 percent. The third major chain Co-op is also showing 0.7 percentage points to 29.2 percent.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
