Rema 1000’s Acquisition Of Aldi Stores Undergoes Further Investigation

By: Trademagazin editor Date: 2023. 05. 23. 09:45

Rema 1000’s takeover of the majority of the Aldi chain in Denmark is to be investigated further by local competition authorities, according to media reports.

News portal E24 reported that Denmark’s Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen (Competition and Consumer Authority) was moving its investigation of the merger from ‘phase 1’ to ‘phase 2’, a process that is likely to take an additional 90 days.

Last year, Rema 1000, which is owned by Norway’s Reitan Retail, reported a turnover of NOK 28.3 billion (€2.41 billion) in Denmark, compared to NOK 47.4 billion (€4.04 billion) in its home market.

In December, Reitan Retail said that it had agreed to purchase 114 Danish grocery stores and three distribution centres, in a move that would make Rema 1000 “the largest chain of grocery stores in Denmark,” Reitan Retail chief executive Ole Robert Reitan said at the time.

Prior to the transaction, Rema 1000 operated around 330 grocery stores in Denmark.

Aldi Denmark, which is part of Aldi Nord, said in a statement at the time that the sale was part of a full exit from the Danish market, where it has a total of 188 stores.

Aldi will instead focus on eight other key markets in Europe.

ESM