Brits in Oslo mourn impending closure of last Iceland supermarket
The last remaining Norwegian branch of the British supermarket chain Iceland is set to close before the end of July as the franchisee shifts to a wholesale strategy.
Knut Strand, the head of logistics and IT at Iceland Mat, confirmed to The Local that the last store, at St. Hanshaugen in central Oslo, would close before the end of the July, with the company instead selling to other retailers.
"This is correct. It is going to close by the end of July. We are not buying any more stock, although maybe we will send some stock from our warehouse next week," he said.
He said that the company would continue importing products from Iceland in the UK and selling it wholesale.
"We will sell the goods to other retailers. You can buy Iceland stuff online from Oda, Wolt, Gigaboks and others. We don't currently have a web shop and I don't think we will open one in the near future."
British people living in Oslo commiserated eachother about the store's impending closure on the Brits in Oslo Facebook page.
"It means there's no more of my favourite pies," wrote Adrienne Hughes.
Others swapped information on where else in Oslo it is possible to buy items like Cheddar cheese, Yorkshire Tea, Crumpets, and English mustard.
The franchise was started by the Norwegian entrepreneur Geir Olav Opheim in 2018, and grew to a total of six stores: two in Oslo at St. Hanshaugen and Haugenstua, with branches outside the capital in Bærum, Asker, Larvik, and Kristianstad.
The stores, like their UK counterparts, specialised in selling frozen products as well as supplying UK favourites such as Marmite, crumpets, Branston pickle, Yorkshire Tea, and Walker's Crisps.
Astrid Helene Mjøen, a Norwegian married to a British man, predicted that her family would have to stock up on their regular trips back to the UK.
"Our option now is to hoard when we're in England, which won't be as often, and we won't get to buy as much because we also need to transport my husband's belongings here," she wrote on the Facebook page.
The Local has contacted Opheim, who suggested we speak instead to Kai Magnar Killingmo, the chairman of Iceland Food Trading. So far Killingmo has not responded to our inquiries.
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Knut Strand, the head of logistics and IT at Iceland Mat, confirmed to The Local that the last store, at St. Hanshaugen in central Oslo, would close before the end of the July, with the company instead selling to other retailers.
"This is correct. It is going to close by the end of July. We are not buying any more stock, although maybe we will send some stock from our warehouse next week," he said.
He said that the company would continue importing products from Iceland in the UK and selling it wholesale.
"We will sell the goods to other retailers. You can buy Iceland stuff online from Oda, Wolt, Gigaboks and others. We don't currently have a web shop and I don't think we will open one in the near future."
British people living in Oslo commiserated eachother about the store's impending closure on the Brits in Oslo Facebook page.
"It means there's no more of my favourite pies," wrote Adrienne Hughes.
Others swapped information on where else in Oslo it is possible to buy items like Cheddar cheese, Yorkshire Tea, Crumpets, and English mustard.
The franchise was started by the Norwegian entrepreneur Geir Olav Opheim in 2018, and grew to a total of six stores: two in Oslo at St. Hanshaugen and Haugenstua, with branches outside the capital in Bærum, Asker, Larvik, and Kristianstad.
The stores, like their UK counterparts, specialised in selling frozen products as well as supplying UK favourites such as Marmite, crumpets, Branston pickle, Yorkshire Tea, and Walker's Crisps.
Astrid Helene Mjøen, a Norwegian married to a British man, predicted that her family would have to stock up on their regular trips back to the UK.
"Our option now is to hoard when we're in England, which won't be as often, and we won't get to buy as much because we also need to transport my husband's belongings here," she wrote on the Facebook page.
The Local has contacted Opheim, who suggested we speak instead to Kai Magnar Killingmo, the chairman of Iceland Food Trading. So far Killingmo has not responded to our inquiries.
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