Salling Group sells 163 Netto stores
The Danish supermarket giant Salling Group withdraws from Sweden, which never became a success for the group.
Coop Sweden grows stronger
The Swedish Competition Authority has approved Coop’s purchase of Netto's Swedish stores from the Danish retail giant Salling Group.
As a result, the restructuring of Netto's stores to Coop will start in the early autumn, says Christian Wijkström, CEO in Coop Butiker & Stormarknader (CBS).
He is of course very happy with the result, which however was not unexpected.
“It is very positive that the Swedish Competition Authority handled the case effectively, which means that we can now move on and implement the deal. Coop aims to take over the Netto stores in early July and then start work on rebuilding Netto's stores to Coop,” says Wijkström.
Fast decision-making
It was in early May that the deal was presented. At the same time, a trial was also initiated by the Swedish Competition Authority.
This week the message from the authority was that the merger is approved and that the deal can be completed.
To be a government agency the decision-making process has been particularly fast. A rarity among Nordic administrative bodies it must be allowed to express.
From 240 to 403 stores
CBS runs 240 of Coop's 650 stores in Sweden. The stores are mainly located in Stockholm, Mälardalen, Östergötland and western Skåne.
Netto, which started the first store in Sweden in 2002, currently operates 163 stores, which now will be converted to Coop in the long term. This means that the stores will have a broader range of food products, including Coop's wide range of sustainability-labeled food.
In one go CBS will go from 240 to 403 stores. Of course, this will have a major impact on Coop's competitiveness.
In Sweden, in total, Coop has a 18% market share and Netto will add 2 percentage points to the purchase, according to information director Tobias Rydergren.