Coop amba

An association of cooperatives formed in Zealand in 1884 was first named the Fællesforeningen for Danmarks Brugsforeninger (Danish Consumers Cooperative Society, in English), but the later FDB was founded in 1896 from a merger between that association and the cooperative association for Jutland. In 1897, it began forming its own factories and brands, some of which {{ndash}} like Cirkel-brand coffee {{ndash}} continue to be successful although most were shuttered in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1918, it helped form the NAF ({{lang|da|Nordisk Andels Forbund}}, "Nordic Coop Federation") which later became Coop Norden AB. In 1952, it opened the first viable supermarket in the Faroes at Thorshavn.{{cite web|website=FDB|url=http://fdb.dk/om-fdb/fdbs-historie-og-udvikling|title=FDB's historie og udvikling (FDB's History & Development)|access-date=1 May 2012|language=da|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231044826/http://fdb.dk/om-fdb/fdbs-historie-og-udvikling|archive-date=31 December 2011}}

FDB originally focused on manufacturing and wholesaling, branding its retail operations simply "Brugsen" ("Coop"). In 1961, it opened the Kvickly chain in Aalborg, which sold clothes and hardware in addition to food. It merged with the large Hovedstadens Brugsforening supermarket chain in 1971 and opened the discount OBS! chain in 1972 at Høje Tåstrup. By the 1980s, the company began shuttering its factories and focusing more on retail operations. It purchased Irma in 1982 and Fakta in 1987. Between 1991 and 1995, it rebranded its own stores as the SuperBrugsen supermarkets, the Dagli'Brugsen local markets, and the LokalBrugsen convenience stores.{{cite web|website=Coop Denmark|url=http://om.coop.dk/om+coop/vores+historie.aspx|title=Vores historie (Our History)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615214645/http://om.coop.dk/om%2Bcoop/vores%2Bhistorie.aspx|archive-date=June 15, 2012|access-date=1 May 2012|language=da|url-status=dead}}

All of these outlets were placed under Coop Danmark in 2001 in preparation for the 2002 union of its operations with those of Norway's NKL and Sweden's KF as Coop Norden. FDB held a 38% stake in the new unitary company, but its poor performance caused the parent companies to redivide its operations by 2008. FDB continued to organize its retailers under the Coop Denmark heading, and in January 2013, FDB changed its name to Coop.{{cite news|title=FDB og Coop smelter sammen|url=http://www.business.dk/detailhandel/fdb-og-coop-smelter-sammen|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Berlingske Business|date=12 January 2013}}

Due to retail market moving towards discount shops, premium chains Irma, Kvikly and SuperBrugsen were supposed to merge into a single eponymous chain called Coop.{{cite web | url=https://info.coop.dk/kontakt/pressekontakt/pressemeddelelser/coop-samler-tre-kaeder-i-en/ | title=Coop samler tre kæder i én }} However, due to continuing struggles of the company, the plan was abandoned, with half of Coop amba being sold to energy company OK {{cite web | url=https://info.coop.dk/kontakt/pressekontakt/pressemeddelelser/coop-og-ok-indgaar-historisk-aftale/ | title=Coop og OK indgår historisk aftale }} and Irma shops being converted into SuperBrugsen or shut down as planned.

Coop amba wholly owns the three subsidiaries of Coop Danmark, Coop Invest and Coop Bank. Coop Invest owns Republica A/S, an advertising company focused on retail sales, and Severin A/S, a training center first built in 1932.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Coop Danmark is the second-biggest retailer of consumer goods in Denmark, with a market share of 40% and 1.4 million members.{{cite web|title=Coop Danmark A/S|url=http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.coop_danmark_a-s.8e8622076b0a12bc.html|access-date=15 April 2017|website=Hoovers}} Its main competitors are the dominant Salling Group (covering Netto, Føtex and Bilka), REMA 1000, Dagrofa (covering SPAR, Meny and Kiwi) and Lidl.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Brancheanalyse: Dagligvarer 2019|url=https://finans.dk/analyse/ECE11452635/brancheanalyse-dagligvarer-2019/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922124500/https://finans.dk/analyse/ECE11452635/brancheanalyse-dagligvarer-2019/ |archive-date=2020-09-22 |access-date=2021-01-28|website=FINANS}} With around 1,200 supermarkets, discount stores and hypermarkets in Denmark, Coop Danmark operates the following stores: Kvickly, Brugsen, SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen, LokalBrugsen, Fakta, Irma.{{cite web|url=https://om.coop.dk/koncern/coop-familien.aspx|title=Coop-familien|website=Coop|date=15 April 2017|language=da}} Coop Danmark and its subsidiaries have more than 36,000 employees and post a yearly turnover of 50 billion DKK.{{cite web|title=Coop: In English|url=https://om.coop.dk/koncern/in+english.aspx|website=Coop|access-date=15 April 2017}}

In April 2017, Coop Danmark launched a digital crowdfunding platform in cooperation with Lendino. Major projects include the development of environmentally friendly cattle feeding with a budget of 2.5 million DKK, an apple orchard on Fejø for 660.000 DKK, and a whiskey distillery on Ærø.{{citation|title=Nu kan Coop's medlemmer tjene penge på at investere i grøn mælk (Now Coop's members earn money by investing in green milk)|publisher= Politiken |date=3 April 2017 |language=da}}{{cite web|url=http://politiken.dk/indland/art5894680/Betal-2.000-kroner-og-f%C3%A5-en-sporbar-%C3%B8kowhisky |publisher=Poltiken|date= 3 April 2017 |title=4 eksempler på crowdfunding: Betal 2.000 kroner og få en sporbar økowhisky (4 examples of crowdfunding: Pay 2,000 crowns and have a traceable økowhisky)|language=da }}

Image:Irma Center Roedovre.JPG]]

Irma, a supermarket chain operated by Coop Danmark, was founded in 1886 by Carl Schepler as a small grocery store selling eggs in Ravnsborggade in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. The chain is the second oldest groceries chain in the world, after Marks & Spencer. As of 2015, the chain had 80 stores,{{cite news|title=Irma-relancering koster trecifret millionbeløb|url=http://fodevarewatch.dk/Fodevarer/article7803599.ece|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=FødevareWatch|date=18 June 2015}} mostly located in the Metropolitan Copenhagen area.{{cite web|title=Find butik|url=https://irma.dk/find-butik|website=Irma|access-date=15 April 2017}}

Image:Irma in East Copenhagen.JPG

Irma is quality-oriented mainly aiming for quality-conscious and environment-aware customers by focusing on fresh and organic products as well as packaging. Therefore, the stores have a great variety of organic products compared to other Danish supermarket, and packaging containing PVC and excessive amounts of aluminium are banned from the shelves. The same goes for chlorine-bleached products.{{cite news|title=Irma dropper al salg af skyllemiddel|url=http://politiken.dk/forbrugogliv/forbrug/indkoeb/art5547671/Irma-dropper-al-salg-af-skyllemiddel|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Politiken|date=13 October 2014}} Irma banned battery cage eggs in 1994,{{cite news|title=Kvickly bagefter: Irma droppede buræg for 20 år siden|url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/kvickly-bagefter-irma-droppede-buraeg-20-aar-siden|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=DR|date=9 August 2013}} 8 years before it was banned by the European Union.{{cite news|title=European Union Bans Battery Cages for Egg-Laying Hens|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/european-union-bans-battery-cages-for-egg-laying-hens/|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Food Safety News|date=19 January 2012}}

In 2007, Irma set a world record with 29.9% of its total sales being organic food.{{cite news|title=Irma vil sætte øko-verdensrekord|url=http://politiken.dk/mad/madnyt/art5417252/Irma-vil-s%C3%A6tte-%C3%B8ko-verdensrekord|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Politiken|date=10 October 2008}} Irma has a goal of having organic products accounting for half of its total food sales before 2025.{{cite news|title=Irma: Halvdelen af salget skal være økologisk|url=http://landbrugsavisen.dk/irma-halvdelen-af-salget-skal-v%C3%A6re-%C3%B8kologisk|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=LandbrugsAvisen|date=8 January 2015}}

In 2015, Irma was named the most sustainable brand in Denmark,{{cite news|title=Irma most sustainable brand in Denmark|url=http://cphpost.dk/news/irma-most-sustainable-brand-in-denmark.html|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=CPH Post|date=24 March 2015}} a title which parent company Coop won in 2016.{{cite web|title=THE 2016 SUSTAINABLE BRAND INDEX RANKING - DENMARK|url=https://www.sb-index.com/ranking-2016-denmark/|website=SB-Index|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416125332/https://www.sb-index.com/ranking-2016-denmark/|archive-date=16 April 2017|url-status=dead}}

Starting in 2001 Irma began operating an express version of the store, known as Irma City. These stores were smaller than the normal Irma, with longer opening hours and a range of organic food to take away.{{cite news|title=Irma går imod strømmen og dropper convenience-koncept|url=http://finans.dk/protected/finans/erhverv/ECE8022196/Irma-g%C3%A5r-imod-str%C3%B8mmen-og-dropper-convenience-koncept/?ctxref=ext|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Finans.dk|date=15 September 2015}} In 2015, it was announced that Irma City stores would be replaced by the new concept Lille Irma (Little Irma), where the customers would have a say in the selection of goods available in the stores. The Lille Irma concept was planned to have fully replaced Irma City by the end of 2017.{{cite news|title=Irma får en lillesøster|url=http://www.business.dk/detailhandel/irma-faar-en-lillesoester|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Berlingske Business|date=20 August 2015}}

In April 2008, Irma took over the grocery departments Mad & Vin (Food and Wine) of department store chain Magasin du Nord in the stores in both Odense and Aarhus. The projects failed and the stores closed in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://politiken.dk/forbrugogliv/ECE1565389/irma-lukker-alle-butikker-i-jylland-og-paa-fyn/|title=Irma lukker alle butikker i Jylland og på Fyn [Irma closes all stores in Jutland and on Funen] |language=da|newspaper=Politiken|date=9 March 2012|access-date=3 January 2015}}

On 31 January 2023, Coop Danmark announced that all Irma supermarkets would be rebranded or closed in the course of the year.[https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/penge/lukker-efter-137-aar-det-sker-der-med-din-lokale-irma DR.dk. Lukker efter 137 år: Det sker der med din lokale Irma.] Retrieved 31 January 2023.

File:Brugsen Copenhagen Central Station, entrance 2017.jpg]]

Brugsen was originally the nondescript brand name of Coop amba's retail outlets in Denmark. After opening a series of branded stores starting in 1961 and deciding to focus on its retail operations in the 1980s, Coop began closing factories, and spun off its larger Brugsen stores as SuperBrugsen in 1991 and its smaller ones as Dagli'Brugsen the next year. In 1995, the smallest convenience stores were organized as LokalBrugsen.

After a failed attempt to merge their operations with Norway's Coop Norge (NKL) and Sweden's Kooperativa Förbundet (KF) as Coop Norden in 2002, Coop amba regained sole ownership of the group's Danish operations, Coop Danmark, in 2008. Coop Denmark continues to operate the SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen, and LokalBrugsen chains as separate divisions of its operations.

From 2016 Coop re-branded four of the existing Coop stores to Brugsen once again,{{cite news|title=Coop lancerer nyt city-koncept|url=https://dhblad.dk/coop-lancerer-nyt-city-koncept-07/04-2016|access-date=15 April 2017|publisher=Dansk Handelsblad|date=7 April 2016|archive-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412212707/http://dhblad.dk/coop-lancerer-nyt-city-koncept-07/04-2016|url-status=dead}} including a flagship store inside the hall of Copenhagen Central Station.{{cite news|title=Coops flagskibsbutik bliver til Brugsen|url=https://dhblad.dk/coops-flagskibsbutik-bliver-til-brugsen-25/11-2016|access-date=15 April 2017|publisher=Dansk Handelsblad|date=25 November 2016}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Image:Kvickly in Roskilde, Denmark.jpeg, Denmark]]

Kvickly was in the beginning a Swedish food market chain owned by the 'consumers organization' ('Konsumentföreningen') in Sweden. The first store opened in the 1950s in the Stockholm area. The company name was changed to Domus in Sweden in the late 1960s/early 1970s when the stores became superstores selling more than food. {{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

The first Kvickly store was opened by FDB in Denmark in 1961. In Denmark, the sister chain remains Kvickly,{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} which has a large selection of items, and were in 2010 named by the Danish Ministry of Health as the easiest place in Denmark to buy healthy food.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} Kvickly's headquarters are in Albertslund,and it has 81 stores.{{cite web|url=http://www.kvickly.dk/includefiles/MODULER/CCMS/show_page.asp?iMappeID=442&sSideNavn=Find+varehus|title=Vi er altid lige i nærheden|language=da|access-date=2008-02-22}}

File:Fakta in East Copenhagen.JPG]]

Fakta, a chain of discount stores as of September 2022 superseded by 365discount and was founded in 1981 as Dansk Discount A/S, renamed Fakta in 1982. Six years later, the chain became a part of Coop Danmark.{{cite news|title=Guldægget Fakta er hårdt presset|url=http://www.business.dk/detailhandel/guldaegget-fakta-er-haardt-presset|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Berlingske Business|date=16 April 2013}} In May 2011, Fakta had 374 stores with around 6,000 employees.{{cite news|last=Gerber |first=Jan |title=Ny kædedirektør for Fakta |url=http://om.coop.dk/nyheder+og+presse/presserum/pressemeddelelser.aspx?nyhedid=12528 |access-date=22 February 2012 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} They operated stores located at more central urban places, called Fakta Q, which sold food, primarily convenience food. They were replaced by regular Fakta stores with Fakta Q being discontinued in 2017.{{cite news|title=Coop afliver convenience-kæde|url=http://detailfolk.dk/detailnyheder/coop_afliver_convenience-kde.html|access-date=15 April 2017|publisher=Detailfolk|date=7 April 2017}} Fakta's slogan is "Det er Fakta" ("It's a fact" or "It's Fakta"). The old slogan "Det er sund fornuft" ("It's common sense") is still used on Fakta-branded products. In the 21st century their slogan became "det tager kun 5 min" ("it only takes 5 mins").

In 2013, Fakta opened its first two stores in Germany, just south of the Danish border.{{cite news|title=Fakta åbner i Tyskland|url=https://www.fla.de/artikel/Fakta-aabner-i-Tyskland-e092.html|access-date=15 April 2017|agency=Flensborg Avis|date=2 October 2012}}

In 2020 Coop began experimental opening of a new brand of stores then named, Coop 365.{{cite web|url=https://fodevarewatch.dk/Detail/article12657323.ece|title=Fakta-chef: Flere Coop 365-butikker er på vej|publisher=Fødevarewatch|date=2020-12-30|language=Danish}} This resulted in Coop in September 2022 deciding to completely revamp their discount offering by rebranding all Fakta stores (also closing some and rebuilding others) to this new brand, which, after several renames, ended up as 365discount.{{cite web|url=https://info.coop.dk/kontakt/pressekontakt/pressemeddelelser/kv-sb/|title=Coop samler alle sine discountbutikker i en kæde: 130 butikker på vej i år|date=2022-09-14|publisher=Coop|language=Danish}}{{cite web|url=https://nyheder.tv2.dk/business/2022-09-13-coop-lancerer-store-aendringer-lukker-alle-fakta-butikker|title=Coop lancerer store ændringer - lukker alle Fakta-butikker|date=2022-09-13|publisher=TV2|language=Danish}}

• List of cooperatives

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://coop.dk/ Coop Danmark], which operates [http://www.kvickly.dk Kvickly], [http://irma.dk Irma supermarkets], [http://www.fakta.dk/ Fakta] ([http://www.faktaq.dk/ Fakta Q] and [http://www.fakta.eu/ Fakta Germany]), and Brugsen ([http://superbrugsen.dk/ SuperBrugsen] and [http://www.daglibrugsen.dk/ DagliBrugsen])

{{coord|55.6579|12.3687|type:landmark_region:DK|display=title}}

{{Danish supermarkets}}

Category:Coop Danmark

Category:Cooperatives in Denmark

Category:Supermarkets of Denmark

Category:Retail companies established in 1896

Category:Danish companies established in 1896

Category:Danish brands

Category:Consumers' cooperatives

Category:Companies based in Albertslund Municipality

Category:Coop Norden