Following approval from competition oversight bodies, the transaction between the Swedish retail company ICA Gruppen and the Danish company Salling Group involving the sale of the grocery retail company Rimi Baltic has been concluded. The Salling Group will assume ownership of the whole Baltic store chain along with a powerful e-commerce platform and centralised logistics system, employing over 11,000 employees in total. The transaction amount is EUR 1.3 billion. In turn, Rimi becoming part of the Salling Group will provide new development opportunities for the fulfilment of a long-term business strategy.
Since 2007, Rimi has belonged to Sweden's biggest grocery retail company ICA Gruppen, and over the years it has grown into a financially powerful business with modern stores, targeted growth ambitions, and an astute focus on sustainability and innovations. Last year, the company's turnover reached EUR 1.9 billion. The Salling Group plans to retain the successful Rimi concept, and to further consolidate its current strong market position, simultaneously investing in the provision of an even better shopping experience, based on a smartly conceived product offering, astute pricing policy and even friendlier environment for shoppers.
“Rimi is a well-managed business with over 11,000 talented colleagues and 314 stores in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which are notable for their high-quality standards and unique customer approach. We are proud that Rimi is going to become part of the Salling Group, and cannot wait for our joint cooperation to begin. On our part, we will continue to strengthen the company's market leading positions in the Baltics, concurrently learning from the experience of our colleagues, which will also be useful to our other stores in Denmark, Germany and Poland. We anticipate that this transaction will also mark a new turn in the growth of the Salling Group,” says Salling Group CEO Anders Hagh.
Following the acquisition of Rimi, the Salling Group will have almost 2,100 stores in Denmark, Germany, Poland and the Baltic States, with over 68,000 employees.
According to Rimi Baltic CEO Giedrius Bandzevičius, this transaction will precipitate a new stage in the growth of Rimi: “In future, Rimi joining the Salling Group will be a date to celebrate as a new beginning - because I have no doubt that it will open up new opportunities for development, and will prove to be a stepping stone to the achievement of our future goals. The Salling Group and we have joint strategic ambitions and a shared vision of the development of the business in the Baltics. Our operations are based on common values and principles. Based on Rimi Baltic's long-term business strategy, together we will be able to provide a shopping experience increasingly oriented towards shoppers' needs and amenities.”
