Norwegian retail conglomerate NorgesGruppen has said that a combination of closed borders, increased at-home dining and less travel all contributed to 'strong revenue growth' at its operations in 2020, with market share increases reported at its Kiwi and Meny chains.
The group's Kiwi banner saw its market share rise by 0.8 percentage points to 22.6%, the group said, while Meny's share rose 0.1 percentage points to 10.4%, according to Nielsen data.
At the same time, however, its Spar/Eurospar and Joker banners had a 'more challenging year', seeing their market share drop by 0.3 percentage points (to 7.0%) and 0.2 percentage points (to 3.5%) respectively.
The group made the announcement in a trading update ahead of the release of its full-year revenue figures on 25 March.
'Extremely Demanding Year'
"I am impressed by the effort all parts of our business have put in during an extremely demanding year," commented chief executive Runar Hollevik. "Despite great pressure as a result of the pandemic, health and safety measures and the unpredictability of everyday life, we have managed to deliver enough products and safe stores for both customers and employees.
"Increased turnover in online shopping has also been an important factor and helped to give our customers more choice in terms of how they shop for their groceries."
According to Nielsen figures, the Norwegian grocery market is estimated to have growth by 17.1% last year.
In addition, Nielsen data shows that 52.2% of Norgesgruppen stores are now merchant-owned, which Hollevik said contributes to the "diversity" of the group. "I am glad that we are able to offer them concepts that make it possible to operate profitably as an independent merchant in Norway today," he added.
'State Of Emergency'
According to Hollevik, the development of the market in 2020 has been characterised by a "state of emergency", and this it is unlikely that such high growth can be maintained.
"We know that growth will not continue and that we will return to normal when the pandemic is over," he said. "Parts of our business, especially related to the catering market, have also had a challenging year and have not experienced the same growth as the grocery part of the business."
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
