Danish retailer Salling Group has acquired the entire Rimi Baltic supermarket chain from Swedish parent company ICA Gruppen for 1.3 billion euros, dzentlmenis.lv reported. The transaction covers all 314 stores across Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, marking a major consolidation in the regional grocery sector. Anders Håg, head of Salling Group, stated that building a new store network from scratch across the Baltics was not practical due to existing market competition.
Salling Group targets Baltic markets mirroring Scandinavia
Salling Group chose to enter the Baltic region because the local business environment closely mirrors Scandinavia. Management considered acquiring the Prisma chain in Estonia prior to the Rimi deal, but abandoned the plan because Prisma’s larger store formats would have forced the company to expand its non-food inventory beyond its preferred retail concept. Salling Group leadership plans to evaluate future acquisition opportunities if any competitors decide to exit the Baltic market, though Håg emphasized that every potential purchase must remain financially justified rather than pursued strictly for store count expansion.
Shoppers favor domestic producers for fresh food
Operating across three Baltic countries revealed stark differences in consumer purchasing habits between neighboring nations. Estonian shoppers buy warm pizzas in high volumes, whereas the same product generates minimal demand in Latvian supermarkets. Salling Group noted that shoppers across all Baltic markets consistently favor domestic food producers for fresh dairy and meat products over imported goods. Consequently, the company maintains separate local supply chains for fresh food in each country while centralizing bulk orders for dry goods, canned items, and non-perishable merchandise to secure lower supplier costs.
Rimi stores adopt Salling Group discount pricing strategies
Store shelves across the Rimi network are gradually replacing ICA private-label goods with products from Salling Group’s home portfolio. More than half of Salling Group’s total business model relies on discount retail operations, bringing established discount pricing strategies into the newly acquired Baltic stores. The company confirmed it has no plans to introduce its Netto discount brand name to the Baltics, choosing instead to apply successful discount practices directly within existing Rimi locations while keeping the established store banner.
Salling Group has reported revenue growth of 15.2% in its financial year 2025, to DKK 83.2 billion (€11.1 billion), supported by the acquisition of Rimi Baltic, international expansion, and market share gains in Denmark.https://t.co/2glTxwcD36
Salling Group addresses Rimi store closures and pricing
Will any Rimi stores close following the acquisition?
Salling Group stated it does not plan widespread store closures across the Baltic network, though the company will review and potentially close a small number of locations that have recorded long-term underperformance.
How will the ownership change affect everyday grocery prices?
The new owners are applying discount retail expertise developed across more than half of Salling Group’s broader business operations to lower prices and improve affordability on selected product lines inside Rimi stores.
Why did Salling Group choose Rimi over other regional supermarket chains?
Management selected the ICA-owned network because the corporate culture and operational concepts closely matched Salling Group’s existing business model in Denmark, Germany, and Poland.
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