Nicolas Ranninger, Nordic Market, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

The French retail chain Picard, specialized in the sales of frozen foods, will open its first store in Sweden on the 13th of February in Stockholm. Picard has 850 stores located in France, Italy and Belgium and now its goal is to open up around 50 stores in different cities in Sweden.

Picard’s concept is to focus only on private label premium frozen foods distributed through small stores (around 150-200 m²) that are located in city centres, with a product range of approximately 1,100 lines. This concept is very different and new on the Swedish food market.

In the 1990´s Carrefour was a shareholder in the company. Since 2010 all Picard Surgelés is owned by the English venture capital company Lion Capital. Henrik Strinning former sales manager at Coop stores is responsible for the market entry of Picard into Sweden.

In November, the Swedish trade council arranged a meeting for Swedish suppliers and Picard´s purchasing managers. This meeting drew a large attendance with strong interest. According to Fredrik Strömblad head of operation for the Swedish frozen food agency “If Picard can offer something new in the frozen food area, then they will be successful. The Swedish stores are already good at selling frozen food so therefore it is important for Picard to attract customers with new products”.

Picard´s CEO Philippe Pauze, has high hopes for the launch and he anticipates that 50 stores will open in Sweden with each store making around € 2 million per annum.  He expects to open a total 15 stores in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala and Linköping within the next 2 years.

Picard successful business model may help revitalise a Swedish frozen market, which despite enjoying one of the highest market shares in Europe, is very much focused on commodity.