Kiwi, Rima 1000 | Rima 1000 lags behind: – Kiwi and the more aggressive Extra

By far the biggest player among grocery chains is getting bigger. Kiwi owner Norgesgruppen grows more than both Coop and Rema 1000.

This is shown by the figures in the Fresh Fumigated Grocery Report released by trade organization Virke.

Strong growth

Norgesgruppen saw a strong increase in sales volumes for grocery chains Kiwi, Meny, Spar, Joker and Nærbutikken.

Annual growth reached 3.4 percent. Overall, this results in growth of 22.2 percent from 2016 to 2022.

Trading volume for 2022 and change since 2016:

Source: Table based on figures from 2023/Ferke Grocery Report

Credible logo

Alo Analysis grocery expert Ivar Petersen believes kiwis play a key role for the Norges range.

– Kiwi has gained a leading position in pricing and marketing strategies, says Petersen, and continues:

-The slogan “We never give up on price” indicates the desire to be the price leader. Thus, Kiwi is telling its competitors that there is no point in lowering the priceHe says.

Norgesgruppen is by far the biggest player among grocery chains. It has implications for the credibility of New Zealanders.

– With Norgesgruppen at the back, rivals know Kiwi has the necessary resources. They simply have credibility with the logo they use, says Petersen.

Worst for Rima 1000

Rema 1000 has weaker growth than both Coop and Norgesgruppen. The annual growth of Rema 1000 in this period was 2.3 percent, well below the market average of 2.9 percent.

– I think Kiwi and Extra are the most aggressive low price chains, says Petersen.

– The number of shops is increasing, and my impression is that Kiwi and Extra are active in terms of setting up shops. He says more stores mean more sales and higher market shares.

From 2016 to 2022, Norgesgruppen increased the number of stores by 279 to 2,129, distributed across various chains.

There is a strong trend that characterizes the Norwegian grocery market: Norwegians are increasingly shopping in discount stores.

Since 2012, the market share of Norwegian discount chains has steadily increased:

• 2012: 57.4 percent
• 2013: 59.7 percent
• 2014: 61.8 percent
• 2015: 63.4 percent
• 2016: 65.1 percent
• 2017: 65.7 percent
• 2018: 66.5 percent
• 2019: 67.1 percent
• 2020: 68.6 percent
• 2021: 68.8 percent
• 2022: 69.9 percent

Norgesgruppen and Coop have been able to make the most of this development, says Ivar Petersen in Alo’s analysis.

– People are increasingly shopping at discount stores. Kiwi and Extra have been able to make the most of this strong trend.

Rima 1000 with some problems

Petersen also points out that Rema 1000 faced some challenges that may have contributed to weak growth.

– The Rema 1000 has had some problems in recent years. They had to radically modify their best friend strategy. He says the introduction of Æ did not achieve the results they had hoped for.

However, the performance of the Ritan group is good.

– Reitan Group is in good financial condition. But they do a lot more than Rima 1000. They have kiosks, gas stations and property management. It may seem that Reitan has a different strategy than Norgesgruppen, says Ivar Petersen.

– The Rema 1000 is a strong contender

Norgesgruppen’s communications director, Stein Römerud, believes there are several factors that have led to the good growth.

– Customers care about price, selection, quality and ease of parking in stores. This growth is an indication of our success in these areas,” says Romerod.

– What did Rima 1000 succeed in not achieving?

– I don’t know. Rima is a strong and competent competitor for us. It works very well and has a clear concept at low prices. We focus on what we can do, which is to make our customers as satisfied as possible.

– What growth ambitions do you have for the chains in the future?

– We must have the most attractive stores for customers, within selected stores and low-priced stores. If we succeed, growth will come too, customers decide.

-We were growth winners

Rima 1000 is the only low-priced independent chain to have grown in the past year, says sales and marketing director Pia Melby.

Milby believes the result would have been different if a different starting year had been chosen for comparison.

– If you calculate from 2017, the Rema 1000 has a similar increase with NorgesGruppen, says Mellbye.

Aim for a 30 percent market share

Coop is pleased to have achieved above-market average growth during this period.

– This is due to the number of successful new enterprises, and the growth in sales volume among the shops located in the cooperatives, says Communications Director Harald Christiansen.

– In addition, we successfully transformed several former ICA and Rimi stores when these stores became part of the Coop chains, says Communications Director Harald Christiansen.

He believes that the location of stores is important.

-The recipe for success is simple: We offer our 2.3 million participating owners our Co-op stores where they prefer to shop for their groceries.

According to Christiansen, Coop has clear ambitions going forward:

– Obtaining a 30 percent market share in grocery stores by 2030 seems to be a realistic goal.