Aldi Nord is pulling out of Denmark, 45 years after the discounter opened its first store there.
The competitor Rema 1000 is to take over 114 of the 188 Danish branches, the two companies announced in a joint statement on Friday evening.
Jonas Jansen
Business correspondent in Düsseldorf.
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Aldi checked the activities in all markets and then made the "difficult but necessary strategic decision to withdraw from the Danish market," Finn Tang, the managing director of Aldi Denmark, was quoted as saying.
Aldi wants to concentrate on the other eight European markets where the discounter achieves better results and sees long-term potential.
The companies did not provide any information on the purchase price, the Danish competition authorities still have to approve the agreement.
Rema, which belongs to the Reitan Retail group of companies, wants to take on around 1,600 of the approximately 2,600 employees.
In addition to the employees in the branches, this also includes the truck drivers from the three Danish Aldi logistics centers and the employees in a logistics center.
By the end of January 2023, Aldi wants to close its head office and either sell the remaining stores to other retailers or close them down.
Aldi was the first discounter in Denmark in 1977, according to Rema this served as inspiration for owner Odd Reitan for his own grocery stores.
He opened his first branch two years later in Trondheim, Norway, and Rema came to Denmark in 1994.