Coop; Denmark's leading retailer
Coop Denmark is a leading grocery and consumer goods retailer. The group operates a number of retail brands across the value to luxury spectrum including Kvickly, SuperBrugsen, Coop and Irma, its premium offer. We have worked on a number of store design projects with the Coop team. In 2023 we were invited to create a new store concept for Coop.
Value Research
Discounters in Denmark are growing their market share, as they are in the rest of Europe. In Denmark the leading discount player is Netto. Having built a reputation for low prices, Netto is now focusing on communicating quality to customers. This has proved highly effective in shifting customer perception, even though pricing is not necessarily lower. Part of our brief for this project was to help the group to defend market share in the face of this strong, price-driven competition.
In order to tell a value-quality story, the Coop group elected to rationalise its brands and create a single overarching concept: Coop. This new concept will be rolled out to the existing estate, giving clarity to customers. Irma, the group’s premium brand, is very popular and its product ranges continue to be sold within the new Coop concept. This reassures longstanding customers who have expressed concern that the former Irma stores were being absorbed into the new brand.
Efficient Colours
Bold use of colour is key to Coop’s brand expression, creating an environment that is warm, vibrant and inviting. Key signature areas including deli, fruit and veg, wine and bakery are clearly demarcated by colour. Our research into the discount supermarket sector in Denmark showed a marked focus on efficiency. We used this understanding and research to inform our work on layout, customer journey and internal navigation graphics. In addition, we looked at how Danish shoppers like to shop and what they expect from their grocery stores. Upright freezers were selected because they both save space and show the product off to best advantage.
The Coop Denmark team wanted to re-use their existing inventory of equipment, so we designed with these items in mind. Lighting was primarily directional, putting the focus on the product rather than washing the entire space with light, reducing energy costs and helping the group to adhere to its sustainability standards.
