REMA 1000 (
Bokmål: Rema tusen) is a multinational
no-frills soft-discount grocery chain owned entirely by the
Reitan Group (Reitangruppen). REMA is a short for ' (Reitan Food), referring to
Odd Reitan (founder of the company). ''1000'' refers to offering a selection of only one thousand different products (see
the history section).
With their headquarters located in
Oslo,
Norway, REMA 1000 includes businesses in Norway and Denmark. The chain is based on a
franchised
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
discount concept: buying large quantities of a limited range of products and offering these to semi-independent owners under their brand. By the end of 2016, Rema 1000 had a total amount of 868 shops spread across Norway and Denmark.
By 2016, the retailer captured 24,2% of the total revenue by all Norwegian grocers, taking the lead over its closest rival
Kiwi.
The shops
REMA 1000 shops are known for not spending large sums on
aesthetics. As a matter of fact one of the chain's
slogans is ''"The simple is often the best"'' (Norwegian: ''"Det enkle er ofte det beste"'') and this reflects on the layout concept in the shops. Products are often positioned by crate or even by
pallet
A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundat ...
to save the cost of positioning them in a more attractive way, a strategy not unique to REMA. It is still REMA 1000's official policy of not letting cost-saving damage the basic idea of simplicity (in accordance with the slogan). Wide corridors and informative signs are therefore present to simplify the shopping.
History
Odd Reitan, the founder of the company, opened the first REMA shop in
Trondheim, Norway, 15 February 1979. Originally some shops were named 'REMA 600', indicating its number of food variety (later to be expanded). The owners had recently visited Germany where they had been impressed by the Albrecht brothers (
Theo and
Karl) hard-discount chain
ALDI's success. They wanted to adapt the ALDI concept to Norwegian conditions.
Originally REMA attempted success with a selection of only 500-600 different products, but soon realised that this selection was too narrow. The success of the third REMA shop (opened in
Mo i Rana, 8 May 1980) with a selection of 1,000 different products, paved way for the REMA 1000
brand. Since then, REMA 1000 have expanded their selection to more than 2,500 different products, but the name does not reflect this development.
In 2004, the chain celebrated its 25-year anniversary.
In April 2010, REMA 1000 decided to stop selling eggs from cage hens by the year 2012, to coincide with the scheduled EU-wide prohibition on
battery cages.
[''Fjørfe'' nr. 3, 2010.]
Countries with REMA 1000 shops
References
External links
Rema 1000 NorwayRema 1000 DenmarkThe official Reitan Group (Reitangruppen) website (the owner of REMA 1000)
{{Authority control
Norwegian brands
Supermarkets of Norway
Retail companies established in 1979
No frills