Arcus AS is

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

's largest

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

and

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or ha ...

. It was created when it was demerged from the

state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public owner ...

wine and liquor retailer

Vinmonopolet Vinmonopolet ( en, The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norw ...

on January 1, 1996. The retailing operations were kept in Vinmonopolet; import, export, production, and storage were transferred to Arcus. In July 2001 the

Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry ( Norwegian: Nærings- og handelsdepartementet) was a Norwegian ministry responsible for business, trade and industry. On 1 January 2014 it was merged into Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheri ...

sold 66% of the company to

Sucra Sucra was a defunct Norwegian holding company that was created in 2001 to own the alcoholic beverage producer and importer Arcus after it had been privatized. Sucra's main owners were Tine, Gilde, Norske Potetindustrier and Ekjord. Sucra bought ...

. Sucra were also in 2001 granted an option to purchase the rest of the company, which they did in 2003. In 2005 Sucra sold Arcus to the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

investment company Ratos, including the partial ownership of Braastad. In 2012

Danish Distillers Danish Distillers ( da, Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni known as ) is a company that was headquartered in Aalborg, Denmark. Isidor Henius, the father of Max Henius, was one of the founders of a company that was acquired by Danish Distillers, which e ...

(Aalborg Taffel, etc.,

Gammel Dansk Gammel Dansk is a bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) produced by Arcus-Gruppen in Oslo, Norway, originally developed and produced by Danish Distillers in Denmark. Traditionally it is drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in conne ...

) was bought from

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world’s second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also pr ...

. But the akvavit brand Brøndums snaps, which was a brand of

since a merger in 1893, had to be divested because of the dominant position of Danish Distillers in the Danish market. This akvavit brand was sold to Finnish distillers Altia. The factory in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of ...

closed April 2015 when production of the ''Aalborg'' brands was moved to Norway. Arcus has both storage of beverages from when it was demerged as well as recipes from Vinmonopolet, some of which date back a long time, including the recipes taken over from the purchase of Løitens Brænderi in 1927. Arcus was listed on the

Oslo Stock Exchange Oslo Stock Exchange ( no, Oslo Børs) (OSE: OSLO) is a stock exchange within the Nordic countries and offers Norway’s only regulated markets for securities trading today. The stock exchange offers a full product range including equities, deriv ...

in December 2016. Arcus was the largest player in the Norwegian wine market, the second largest in Sweden, and number five in Finlan

Arcus merged with Altia in 2021 to form Anora Group.

Arcus wine companies in Sweden

The Wineagency Quaffable Wines Valid Wines Vinunic

Arcus wine companies in Norway

Arcus Wine Brands Symposium Wines Heyday Wines AS Vinordia Excellars Hedoni Wines

Arcus wine companies in Finland

WineWorld Finland Social Wines Finland Vinum Import Vinunic

Brands

* Aalborg Taffel * Amundsen Arctic Vodka * Arendalsaquavit * Bergens Aquavit * Braastad Cognac *

* Gammel Opland * Gilde Aquavit * Golden Cock * Hammer Vodka * Jægersborg Aquavit * Kalinka 22 * LINIE * Lysholm No52 * Løiten * Morsa Aquavit * Royal Castle *

Vikingfjord Vikingfjord Vodka is a brand of vodka, distilled from potatoes and bottled by the Norwegian company Arcus. It is distilled through a five-column process, using only glacial water from the Jostedalsbreen glacier in South-Western Norway. Vikingfj ...

Vodka Arcus is also an importer of wine.

References

{{reflist Wholesalers of Norway Formerly government-owned companies of Norway Companies based in Akershus Companies established in 1996 Companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange