Customers were disappointed when Danish Coop announced in January 2023 that its high-end supermarket, Irma, would be closed. Now, its former CEO is relaunching the iconic Danish supermarket chain.
Alfred Josefsen, the former director of Irma, has just opened a new grocery store in Fredriksberg called Alma. Josefsen presided over Irma’s heyday, when customers adored its own-label lines, spacious shops, and attentive service. With Alma, he wants to attract young people and families who once thought Irma was unaffordable.
Together with 12 former Irma employees, Josefsen is opening a brand-new supermarket chain in the capital. The name Alma comes from Josefsen’s grandmother.
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How much Irma is there in Alma?
“There is something, because we, who have helped develop this, carry some values and virtues from Irma. As we say, we have blue blood in our veins,” claims Josefsen.
Products adorned with Irma’s distinctive logo, a girl in a blue dress, were design classics and much-loved souvenirs among Japanese tourists. Alma’s logo, a blue heart, is similarly appealing. Meanwhile, the distinctive design of the brand’s interiors is intended to entice a new generation of shoppers.
“We want to create a good store experience again. You can come into beautiful and sensual stores; some employees know what it’s all about and want to share that knowledge with the customers. And we almost believe we can recreate that one-on-one. In other words, an environment where you experience the same virtues and values as you did during the Irma era,” says Alfred Josefsen in an interview with the Danish newspaper Politiken’s food editor, Mette Mølbak.
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“But we are trying to develop ourselves and present something that is not Irma because it needs development,” he adds.
While meat will still be sold, Alma wants to inspire Danes to adopt a more plant-based diet. It will also avoid ultra-processed foods. “We are not saints or saved. Therefore, there will also be sweets and chips in small quantities, but you will never find a wall of chips at the entrance, sweets at the checkouts, or soda on sale,” he told Politiken.dk.
He says that Alma will build on Irma’s ” collaborative relationships with many manufacturers and suppliers.”
Above all, Alma prioritizes customer experience. (There’s not an automated checkout in sight.)
Iconic Danish Supermarket Chain is Relaunching, Tor Kjolberg reporting.
All images © Alma Mad