The stores in Asker and downtown Stovner will close permanently. Iceland Mat says so in a post on Facebook.
The last day of operation for both stores is 31 December 2022. In the new year, the chain will have just three stores in Norway, two in Oslo and one in Kristiansand.
– There are two expiring lease agreements. dit was not relevant to continue there, he saysCEO of Iceland Norway, Geir Olav Opheim, for Nettavisen.
Bad premise
The Icelandic manager says the locals don’t fit their concept.
– Asker’s place is too small and Stovner-senter’s was in a very secluded part of the mall. If you’re going to run a store in a mall, you need to be where people walk, underlines the Icelandic coach.
The chain hasn’t found any new locations in Stovner or Asker that are relevant.
– The challenge is to find premises with a good enough location.
Customers in the areas are disappointed, Opheim says.
– They don’t want us to shoot, but at the same time we depend on being in places that allow us to get enough customers, says Opheim.
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Thwarted by grocery giants
In the summer of 2021, Iceland closed its shop in Larvik. Then Opheim said the company felt hamstrung by the big, established players in the market.
– We have come across several cases where there is a vacant room that has been empty for a long time where Coop or Norgesgruppen prevented it from being rented to another food operator. That’s because clauses have been negotiated in lease agreements between a grocery operator and mall owners or larger properties granting the exclusive right to operate a grocery store, Opheim told Nettavisen in July 2021.
This is still a problem Iceland faces.
– This applies to all three (ed. Norgesgruppen, Rema 1000 and Coop). They have clauses and they have the ability to keep people like us from settling in many good places.
– It is more important to look at this than price monitoring
Since 2021, Iceland has set up shop in Kristiansand. There are currently no plans for any more store launches. Moving forward, they will focus on selling more in established stores and through partnerships with Europris and Oda.
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In 2022, Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre tightened the opposite the food industryand other measures could arrive in 2023.
The latest report from the Norwegian competition authority argues that this should be done import protection adjustments.
– I think the report of the Competition and Market Authority makes a lot of sense. He underlined the barriers to importing goods. I think it’s more important to look at this rather than these price watches. Now we will see if the Minister of Enterprise and Industry will be able to follow up on measures and legislative proposals.
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