It was a tearful farewell when Coop Marked in Rustad was closed down earlier this year. For more than a hundred years, there had been a shop on the site, which is located in Hurdal municipality, just under five miles north of Oslo.
– The last few weeks have been tough, and this process has gone much faster than we had imagined, said store manager Bente Stefferud Egge to Eidsvoll and Ullensaker magazinewhen the store was closed.
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Shop colleague Christina Gundersen put it this way:
– We were completely taken aback by this news. Almost all the customers who come here comment on this, and many find it very sad. There have been quite a few tears, and we cry together with the customers, Gundersen told the newspaper.
Western Norway is hit hardest
Coop Marked in Rustad was just one of 29 Coop stores that have been closed in the last 12 months.
See a full overview of the stores further down
Of the 29 stores that have closed, most are in Vestland and in Møre og Romsdal:
County
Closed
Westland
5
Møre and Romsdal
5
The cove
4
Oslo
3
Rogaland
3
The hinterland
2
Agder
2
Nordland
1
Troms and Finnmark county
1
Trøndelag
1
Vestfold and Telemark county
1
It is not just Coop that is closing stores. In the last year, overall, there have been 45 fewer in Norway, and six fewer .
Moving out and increased costs
Communications director at Coop, Harald Kristiansen, tells Nettavisen that there are several reasons why they have closed so many stores.
– Relocation, increased operating costs and expensive times when customers are willing to drive a little further to shop at discount stores means that we have had to close down some stores in the past year, he says.
Kristiansen emphasizes that they try to go to great lengths to avoid closures.
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– Coop is owned by the customers and is present all over Norway. Coop therefore believes we have a special responsibility to keep the last district store alive, says Kristiansen.
At the same time, he points out:
– We also have a responsibility to manage the members’ money in a good way. This means that it is not financially sound to run stores that run at a loss over time, he says.
Kristiansen says Coop will work in the future to invest in establishing more fully or partially unmanned convenience stores. It will make it easier to get shops in more deprived areas to become profitable.
Convenience stores are disappearing
Of the 29 Coop stores that have closed, the majority are clearly of the Coop Marked, Matkroken and Coop Prix type. These are convenience stores that are somewhat higher in price than discount stores such as Kiwi, Rema 1000 and Coop’s discount chain Extra.
The 29 stores are distributed among the various chains as follows:
14 Coop Marked 6 Food corner 5 Coop Prix 2 Coop Mega 2 Extra
Turning the bet towards low prices
The figures show that Coop is now shifting its focus towards low prices. Because at the same time as they are closing convenience stores, they have opened eight Extra stores in the past year.
See a full overview of all the stores further down
– This fits into the pattern we have seen for more than ten years, namely that there is more and more focus on discount stores, says professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Øystein Foros.
He does not believe that the high food prices alone are the explanation for the changes that are now taking place.
– When Coop closes the smaller stores and instead invests in new Extra stores, it is a well-considered decision. They think long term. That means they believe the development with more discount stores will continue, he says and adds:
– The animal age alone is not the cause of the changes, but it can reinforce or accelerate the trend.
He points out that many people have acquired new shopping habits in recent years,
– In the animal age, several people have chosen to drive a little extra to shop at a discount store instead of the convenience store. It is probably a habit that there is reason to believe that people will continue with.
These stores are closed
These have been closed during the last 12 months.
Shop Municipality County COOP MEGA DVERGSNES Kristiansand Agder COOP MARKET STOREKVINA Kvinesdal Agder FOOD KROKEN ULVEGJELET Mandal Agder COOP PRIX HERADSBYGD Elverum Inlandet COOP MARKET BYBRUA Gjøvik Inlandet COOP MARKET BATNFJORD Gjemnes Møre og Romsdal FOOD KROKEN NORDLANDET Kristiansund Møre og Romsdal COOP MARKET ÅHEIM Vanylven Møre og Romsdal COOP MARKET ROBBED Vanylven Møre og Romsdal COOP MARKET VIKEBUKT Vestnes Møre og Romsdal COOP MARKET MOLDJORD Beiarn Nordland COOP MEGA FROGNER Oslo Oslo COOP PRIX GRASSBANEN Oslo Oslo MATKROKEN GRENSEN Oslo Oslo COOP MARKET UALAND Lund Rogaland COOP PRIX GRØDEM Randaberg Rogaland COOP PRIX LØKKVEIEN Stavanger Rogaland COOP PRIX KARASJOK Karasjok Troms and Finnmark county COOP MARKET JØA Namsos Trøndelag EXTRA KROKEMOA Sandefjord Vestfold and Telemark county MAT KROKEN BEKKJARVIK Austevoll Vestland MAT KROKEN LANDÅSTORGET Bergen Vestland COOP MARK BREKKE Gulen Vestland COOP MARK VADHEIM Høyanger Vestland COOP MARK FORTUN Luster Vestland EXTRA GRESSVIK Fredrikstad Viken MAT KROKEN ROLVSØY Fredrikstad Viken COOP MARKET RUSTAD Hurdal Viken COOP MARKET KIRKEBYGDA Nore og Uvdal Viken
These stores are open
These have been opened during the last 12 months.
Shop Municipality County EXTRA IME Mandal Agder EXTRA HOLLINGEN Molde Møre og Romsdal EXTRA ILEBREKKE Aukra Møre og Romsdal COOP MEGA TANANGER Sola Rogaland EXTRA HEIMDAL Trondheim Trøndelag EXTRA SELJORD Seljord Vestfold and Telemark county EXTRA LANDÅS Bergen Vestland EXTRA MASCOT Fredrikstad Viken EXTRA SKJETTENTOPTEN Lillestrøm Viken
2023-10-25 20:44:36
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