Many store chains are having a tough time, but the discount trade is attracting more people than ever.
Normal and Dollarstore are two discount chains that have opened many new stores in Sweden in recent years, and discount giants Rusta, Jula and Gekås are all forecasting record sales in 2022.
Gekås in Ullared broke the sales record for a single day on November 12, when visitors shopped for just over SEK 48 million in the department store, and the company's CEO called it "a completely magical sales record"
And when the economy is now declining at the same time as most households' personal finances have worsened as many prices have been raised sharply, even more are expected to seek discount stores.
"We all want to save money"
The low-price chain Rusta has gained around one million new customers since last spring, and Rusta's CEO Göran Westerberg states that consumables such as shampoo and toothpaste sell particularly well in bad times.
- Rich or poor, we all want to save money, he says.
He also says that even "slightly wealthier" customers now go to the stores to shop cheaply.
And he is supported by Joakim Wirén, analyst at HUI Research, who believes that this is true for the entire low-price segment.
- From the beginning, it was those who needed to go there who went there, but now it has become very broad and everyone goes there to make a bargain, he says.