Full case study report: Gram Slot/Rema1000 - Denmark

Summary

The Gram Slot/Rema 1000 case is a food chain, which consists of organic dairy products made by Gram Slot and sold by the supermarket chain Rema 1000 Gram Slot has another branch of their enterprise, consisting of a number of leisure and cultural activities taking place at Gram Slot. In terms of agricultural products the food chain studied involves one major producer, Gram Slot. The distribution of the agricultural products takes place partly through Gram Slot’s own farm shop, but the bulk part of the products are sold via the 259 Rema 1000 supermarkets in Denmark. Rema 1000 has exclusive rights to selling Gram Slot products. The other business branch consists of a number of leisure and cultural activities taking place at 4 Gram Slot. These activities serves different purposes. On the one hand the activities generate income for Gram Slot and, on the other hand, they are a vital part of constituting the brand of Gram Slot. Promoting and branding of the agricultural products contribute to making them unique, which also enhances the brand value of the products for Rema 1000. The Gram/Rema 1000 case was considered for the Healthy Growth project because of the unusual organisation of the chain in a Danish context. This form of organizing a mid-scale food chain in Denmark is a novelty because it represents at fundamental break with a long lasting norm in Danish agriculture of giving high priority to individual ownership. In this respect this case is an example of introducing a mode of organization which is uncommon in the Danish agricultural sector. The owner of Gram Slot, Svend Brodersen (I1), emphasized in an interview that many of my friends tend their daily duties in their companies and they smile all day, even though they own 0 % of the company they are managing. Why is it, that just because it is a farm, you cannot be happy if you only own 51 % of the shares?