Interestingly, with their impending loss of monopoly, apoteket seem to have totally 'got' the branding thing. Their new logo is much more compelling and attractive than the old one, and there are an increasingly large number of apoteket own-brand products (which increase loyalty to their brand) on display in their pharmacies.

2009-10-27, 15:37 | Kenneth

4) Tesco and Asda have much better marketing than the Swedish supermarkets, including of their non-food offering. Whilst many Swedish companies - IKEA, H&M and Sony Ericsson being some obvious examples - have marketing efforts that are world class, the advertising campaigns run by Swedish supermarkets often feel like something that would have been seen in markets like the UK in the 1980s. Consumers need educated that supermarkets can be one-stop shops where you can buy everything. (This task would be made much easier, however, if the supermarkets had a compelling range of own-brand products to market.)

2009-10-27, 00:22 | Kenneth

2) Tesco and Asda's own-brand products also tend to be more-or-less the cheapest on the market in a particular category. This also drives customer loyalty, as consumers know it is not worth their while looking anywhere else. In the Swedish market, it is often cheaper to shop around, buying different things in different stores. For the products that it sells, IKEA is often much cheaper than a Swedish supermarket. 3) The opening hours of the biggest Tesco and Asda supermarkets (ie, 24 hours a day) also add significant value to their offering - where else can you buy paint or a screwdriver or a new iron at midnight? And if you bought a screwdriver at Tesco once and it was good quality at a fair price, why would you go back to the DIY store?

2009-10-27, 00:21 | Kenneth

Compare the success of the two biggest players in the supermarket sector in the UK - Tesco and Asda - with the situation in Sweden and you see a totally different picture. Tesco and Asda are absolutely making money on non-food, and now have such a strong brand in this part of the market that they are starting to open standalone non-food stores. Why is this? A few possibilities: 1) The non-food experience in Tesco and Asda is far, far superior to that in Swedish supermarkets. Both supermarkets have a huge range of own-brand non-food products - you can buy Tesco and Asda-branded printer paper, power extension leads, paint, toasters, lightning, bed covers, screwdrivers… the list goes on and on. These own-brand products create much more loyalty to the supermarket's brand than a mishmash of generic products from manufacturers consumers have never heard of. Swedish supermarkets just don't seem to understand the value of own-brand. 2) Tesco and Asda's own-brand products also tend to be ...

2009-10-27, 00:18 | Kenneth

Utgångspunkten för kartläggningen är säljutvecklingen PER ENHET. Det är denna, inte Ica-handlarnas flitiga nybyggande, som är relevant och bildar underlag för betyget över stormarknadernas förmåga att hävda sig i konkurrensen med i första hand den specialiserade fackhandeln – i det här fallet IG. Se gärna det fullständiga underlaget genom att klicka på "Ladda hem försäljningsutvecklingen inom specialvarumarknaden 2000-2008".

2009-10-14, 11:49 | Klas Ågren/redaktör Market

Jämför ICA:s specialvaruresultat och försäljning per kvadratmeter med branschen så finner ni svaret... Att bara stirra sig blind på omsättningsökningar/marknadsandelar och inte jämföra med antalet enheter (och försäljningsyta) är gravt missvisande!!! Företag är, på sikt, beroende av resultat och inte försäljningutveckling även om dessa ofta går hand i hand.

2009-10-14, 10:57 | Svar

Herr journalist, håller med föregående kommentar: var i ligger fiaskot, eller kan du inte svara.
Coop är ju under isen, men Ica?

2009-10-14, 10:35 | Också frågande

Ica har ju fördubblat sin omsättning på 10 år samt tagit marknadsandelar, var i ligger det fiaskot?

2009-10-14, 09:16 | fråga