Second organic supermarket in Copenhagen

Egefeld is the name of the company that opened its second organic supermarket in the middle of May 2008 in Copenhagen. “In the long term we would like to set up a small organic chain,” says the founder Jesper Schimming. To date, the two Egefeld stores are the only 100 % organic stores in the whole country. Although the forty-year-old has plenty of plans for the future, there are still teething troubles, since the market in Denmark has scarcely any experience of organic supermarkets.

Picture on the right: Jesper Schimming

Moreover, the prices charged for organic products in general and imported goods in particular are very high – on average 20-25 % higher than in Germany is Mr Schimmer’s estimate. “I can buy some products more cheaply in the shops in Germany than from the wholesaler here in Denmark,” is the complaint of this retail pioneer. The reason is not just the higher VAT of 25 % but also, he suspects, the importers who mostly enjoy monopoly status. However, they do label the goods in Danish, which is required by law. Mr Schimmer, who studied management, suspects that sales would increase substantially if prices were to come down. Despite the price level, he gets on average around 400 customers a day in his first store that he opened in June 2006 in the Frederiksburg District of the capital. His recently opened second organic supermarket already has 300 customers a day, although he admits that the average spend is about a third lower than in the first store.

(Picture above: Second store near Platform 5 in Valby, below right: First store in Frederiksburg)

Both stores are ideally located: the first 200 m² store is at a very busy crossroads (picture) between the prosperous residential areas Vesterbro and Frederiksburg. Gammel Kongevej is the main shopping street serving both districts. There are supermarkets attracting large numbers of customers intermingled with new cafés, restaurants, boutiques and specialist shops. Scarcely 100 m away is the conventional supermarket Irma that sells a wide range of organics. “Basically, we’ve got the same customers,” says Mr Schimming. But two factors distinguish him from the others: he has a much bigger selection comprising 3000 articles and he stocks brands that are only available in the specialist trade. However, in Denmark this is not as easy as it sounds. The conventional sector dominates when it comes to marketing organics. The conventional retail trade accounts for nine out of ten Danish crowns spent on food. The specialist trade and direct marketing account for the other 10 %.

“More than 90 % of products that we stock in our store are not kept by conventional retailers. This is either because they have different manufacturers or because they have their organics packaged as own brands.” An example is fresh organic milk: the conventional trade is supplied mainly by Arla, the biggest dairy in the country. In contrast, Egefeld gets its milk from the three smaller dairies Naturmaelk, Øllingeguard and Osted Mejeri. (Picture: A big selection of organic milk from Denmark)

The second location is a linking position between the suburban Valby Station and a recently established shopping street. At the end of Platform 5 is one of the three entrances (picture) to the easily accessible 270 m² organic supermarket. Everything still looks new and rather unused, but the future should certainly be rosy: 30 000 commuters pass through Valby Station every day, and this source has scarcely been tapped yet. Distributing leaflets and offering samples is allowed in the station, but only on payment of a hefty sum to Danish Railways.

Both Egefeld stores are ideal for supplying the local community. They stock a complete organic range of fruit and vegetables, meat and sausage products, milk and milk products, juices, bread and bakery goods, confectionery. They also have a comprehensive range of dry goods, cosmetics and household products. A local organic baker supplies Egefeld with bread and wholemeal rolls (picture) – on sale from 7 o’clock in the morning in the store at Valby Station.

Grøne Fokus, a wholesaler who collects organic vegetables from Seeland and supplies them mainly to large-scale customers in the region round Copenhagen, has this year started to deliver some of Egefeld’s fresh green produce (picture). The rest comes from the wholesaler Soljhulet that is located to the west of Aarhus. Egefeld is also supplied regularly by Helsam, the health food wholesaler, and Supergros, that stocks around 200 organic items and supplies the conventional trade. The rest comes from about 30 Danish manufacturers and importers.

The opening hours are extremely long: the stores are open every day of the year apart from three public holidays – during the week from 10.00 to 20.00 and at the weekend from 8.00 to 17.00. Whereas large supermarkets are not allowed to open on Sundays, smaller operators are exempt. Thus Egefeld is open 68 hours a week. (Picture on right: Fresh organic rolls on sale from 7 o’clock in the morning at Valby Station)

Mr Schimming got the idea of running an organic supermarket while he was staying in New Jersey for a few years. “I was particularly impressed by the chains Wild Oats, Whole Foods and the conventional gourmet supermarket Wegmanns,” he says. He was beginning to lose interest in his job in the pharmaceutical industry, and in 2006 he decided to change direction, and that is how he entered the organic supermarket business.

When asked if he has plans to expand, Jesper Schimming will not commit himself. “The main thing at the moment is to get the two stores operating optimally.” He adds that it is extremely difficult to find sites for stores. Retail space is scarce and expensive in Copenhagen, where a high proportion of the buildings are old. In contrast to the situation in Germany, even quite small sites of 200 m² to 300 m² are used by the big chains and not given up. This is why Mr Schimming prefers slower growth over the long term.

(Picture on right: Vacuum-packed fresh meat on sale in a chilled unit)

Tip:

www.egefeld.dk

Addresses:
Gammel Kongevej 113, Copenhagen
Skolegade 19, Platform 5, in Copenhagen-Valby