Swedish retail group ICA Gruppen this week announced that it is selling its Rimi stores in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to Danish retail giant Salling Group.

Given the intense competition in Estonia's retail market, Coop Eesti Keskühistu Chair Rainer Rohtla said this change of ownership is unlikely to have a significant impact, though it may do more in Lithuania and Latvia.

Rohtla said: "It may have a greater impact in Latvia and Lithuania, where competition among retail chains is lower."

"Since Rimi's new owner operates the Netto discount chain in Poland, time will tell if they attempt to bring that model to the Baltic market," Rohtla added.

"Another aspect that could change is the impact on Estonian farmers and producers. If more foreign-sourced goods start arriving in Estonia, it could negatively affect local suppliers, as the owner has a strong retail network in Poland that could facilitate bulk purchasing," Rohtla noted.

What happens to Rimi in the Baltics under its new ownership, and what ambitions Salling Group has for the region, remains to be seen, he added.

"It is not even clear whether they will continue under the Rimi brand or rebrand it. All these questions remain unanswered today."

Rohtla noted that Netto stores owned by Salling Group are discount retailers, though Rimi is not positioned as a discount chain in Estonia.

The market includes various retail formats, and the new owner's strategy will determine its focus.

However, Rohtla said he does not believe that a discount-chain-backed company's entry will force other grocery chains to change pricing policies or shift to lower-priced products.

"Not all consumers want cheap goods," he said. "A large portion of shoppers still want high-quality products at an affordable price. As always, if you want something good and cheap, buy good and buy cheap."

Coop Eesti roughly fills the market niche Rohtla is mentioning and has quite a strong presence in the so-called golden triangle, the commuter belt around Tallinn.

Rohtla noted that the sale of Rimi would always have likely involved a foreign buyer, as no Baltic competitor would have the resources to meet the deal.

While Estonia has a high level of retail space per capita, competition is spotty, with some areas oversaturated with outlets and others lacking stores.

He stressed also that retail market consolidation is challenging due to high investment costs, making large-scale mergers unlikely soon.

Salling Group is acquiring Rimi, which has 11,000 Baltic employees, for €1.3 billion, pending competition authority approval. The stores would retain the Rimi brand, with no immediate changes to e-commerce or logistics.

Salling's history dates back to 1906, when it started as a small clothing store in Denmark.

Since then, it has grown into an international retail chain operating in Denmark, Germany, and Poland.

In 2020, Netto expanded in Poland by acquiring Tesco's 301 supermarkets, rebranding 243 as Netto and closing 58.

Prices at Danish Netto stores are often lower than at Rimi: For instance, a standard pot of Philadelphia cream cheese costs €1.61 at Netto versus €2.69–€3.39 with Rimi, while Toffifee candies cost €3.35 per box at Netto compared with €5.49 at Rimi at the time of writing.

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