Background
The Swedish food retail market has long been dominated by ICA, Axfood and Coop, three chain-store operations with a combined market share of 85-90%. Except for the market share being very high for these three companies, it has also been rather stable over the years.
Market Share 1994-2002
The market shares in the Swedish retail food-market between 1994-2002 is shown in the table below.
ICA is the biggest operator with a market share of approximately 44%. Coop is second and holds approximately 22%, slightly down compared to the earlier years in the period. In 1998, Axel Johnson and the D-Group merged under the name Axfood, that currently holds about 23% of the market.
Source: Entry into Local Retail Food Markets in Sweden: A Real-Options Approach
Market Share 2011-2013
So, the question is what it looks like today.
I have been able to find some data showing the market share in the Swedish retail market for the years 2011-2013. I’m not really sure if this data is directly comparable to the one presented in the table above. But it should give a pretty good view of what it looks like today.
The source of this data is Dagligvarukartan, a collection published once every year containing yearly statistics of the Swedish retail market.
I have found this data from Dagligvarukartan for 2013, 2012 and 2011. See images below.
Dagligvarukartan 2014 (showing market share per 2013):
Dagligvarukartan 2013 (showing market share per 2012):
Dagligvarukartan 2012 (showing market share per 2011):
For the period 2011-2013 we see that ICA holds a market share of about 50%, Coop 21% and Axfood 15-16%. The absolute change is pretty low between the different years.
I will try to find some more market data, preferably from Dagligvarukartan. If anyone out there has any good statistics or market share data, feel free to share.
Also, yesterday ICA put out a press release saying that they are divesting ICA Norway to Coop. See here for press release.
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