What Axfood does

Axfood AB is a Swedish food retail group operating a portfolio of differentiated store concepts covering discount (Willys), traditional grocery (Hemköp), hypermarket (City Gross), and local/regional formats (Tempo, Handlar'n, Matöppet, Urban Deli), alongside B2B restaurant wholesaling through Snabbgross. The group serves Swedish households and food service businesses, processing more than 6 million customer meetings per week through physical stores and e-commerce, and holds an estimated 25% share of the Swedish food retail market. Founded in 2000 through the merger of D&D Dagligvaror (including logistics company Dagab) and publicly listed Hemköp, the company has scaled from roughly SEK 30 billion at founding to SEK 89,152 million in net sales for fiscal year 2025, with operating profit of SEK 3,572 million (4.0% operating margin).

The group's operational backbone is Dagab, a wholly-owned support company handling product development, purchasing, and logistics across all banners. Distribution is anchored by a highly automated logistics centre in Bålsta — one of Europe's most modern warehouses, fully operational since spring 2023 — with a second highly automated centre planned in Kungsbacka in partnership with Witron. The group also operates private label brands (Garant, Minstingen, Såklart) to support margin and differentiation, and has partial ownership positions in online pharmacy Apohem and cross-border trader Eurocash. Renewable energy infrastructure includes Sweden's largest solar park, commissioned in Hallstavik in 2025 with Alight.

Axfood generates revenue primarily through transactional food retail sales across its store chains and B2B wholesale through Snabbgross (including the Snabbgross Club format for private individuals). Pricing is set independently by each store chain and is not publicly disclosed at the SKU level. The group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under ticker AXFO, is majority-owned by family-controlled Axel Johnson AB, employs approximately 15,000 people, and is headquartered in Stockholm. Distribution remains entirely domestic to Sweden, with growth strategy centred on Willys store expansion (at least ten new stores annually), continued build-out of automation, and segment expansion through M&A.

Name

Axfood

Legal name

Axfood AB

Website

https://axfood.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Axfood is a Swedish food retail group operating discount chain Willys, traditional grocery Hemköp, hypermarket City Gross, and B2B wholesaler Snabbgross, serving Swedish households and food service businesses with 25% domestic market share.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Food Retail Sales: Revenue from retail grocery sales through store chains including Willys, Hemköp, City Gross, Tempo, Handlar'n, and Matöppet. Net sales of SEK 89,152 million in 2025 with operating profit of SEK 3,572 million.
2. B2B Restaurant Wholesale: Sales to restaurant and food service businesses through Snabbgross, including the Snabbgross Club concept allowing private individuals to purchase in larger packages
3. Private Label Products: Sales of private label products under brands including Garant, contributing to differentiated product offerings and margin enhancement

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Axfood operates a portfolio of Swedish grocery retail chains (Willys discount, Hemköp traditional, City Gross hypermarket, and local banners Tempo, Handlar'n, Matöppet, Urban Deli), B2B restaurant wholesale through Snabbgross, private label brands including Garant, and supports the group with centralized purchasing, product development and automated logistics via wholly-owned subsidiary Dagab. The business serves both consumer households and foodservice businesses in Sweden.

Product overview

Axfood is a leading Swedish food retail group operating a platform of distinct store concepts in collaboration. The company manages multiple retail chains including Willys (discount), Hemköp (traditional grocery), City Gross (hypermarket), Tempo, Handlar'n, Matöppet, and Urban Deli. B2B restaurant wholesale operations are handled through Snabbgross, while the support company Dagab manages product development, purchasing, and logistics including highly automated distribution centers. The Group also holds partial ownership in online pharmacy Apohem and Eurocash. The portfolio includes private label products under the Garant brand. Axfood's business model is built on distinctive concepts working in collaboration, combining flexibility with a long-term vision to offer affordable, good, and sustainable food across all market segments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Garant: Private label brand launched in 2009
• Minstingen
• Såklart

Products and services

• Willys Sweden's leading discount grocery chain offering the cheapest bag of groceries, with a strong consumer position and rapid expansion including the new Willys 5.0 store concept; targets budget-conscious grocery shoppers across Sweden.
• Hemköp Traditional grocery chain operating modern stores focused on price value, fresh products and meal solutions, with the highest organic sales share in Sweden; serves consumers seeking quality and variety in traditional grocery shopping.
• City Gross Hypermarket chain providing Axfood with a presence in the attractive hypermarket segment, with an ongoing plan to strengthen the store chain and achieve profitability; serves consumers seeking one-stop large-format shopping across multiple categories.
• Tempo Local and regional grocery store chain operating within the Axfood family of companies in the Swedish grocery market.
• Handlar'n Local and neighbourhood grocery store chain operating within the Axfood family of companies in the Swedish grocery market.
• Matöppet Local and regional grocery store chain operating within the Axfood family of companies in the Swedish grocery market.
• Urban Deli Store chain included in the Axfood family of companies, serving urban grocery consumers.
• Snabbgross Restaurant wholesaler handling B2B sales to restaurants, cafés and catering businesses, including the Snabbgross Club concept that extends bulk purchasing to private individuals; Axfood is offsetting weak B2B growth through strict cost control.
• Garant (Private Label) Private label product brand offering differentiated grocery and household products across Axfood's store chains, contributing to margin enhancement and unique product assortment for Swedish consumers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25% market share in Swedish food retail
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WitroncoreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025Axfood signed an agreement with Witron to invest in automation equipment for the new highly automated logistics centre planned in Kungsbacka. The logistics centre will ensure higher capacity and efficiency for the Group's future growth in southern Sweden.
• AlightcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Axfood established Sweden's largest solar park in Hallstavik in collaboration with solar energy company Alight. The solar park adds additional capacity to the grid and supports the green transition while making Axfood's own energy supply more predictable.
• Stockholms StadsmissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Axfood co-founded the first Matmissionen social grocery store together with Stockholms Stadsmission to support individuals in economic vulnerability. This initiative addresses food accessibility and social sustainability.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• ICA Gruppen: Sweden's largest grocery retail group operating ICA supermarkets, MAXI ICA Stormarknad hypermarkets, and Rimi Baltic. Direct competitor to Axfood across Swedish food retail with comparable multi-format strategy and ~36% domestic market share.
• Coop Sverige: Major Swedish grocery retailer and consumer cooperative operating stores across formats including Netto discount banner. Competes directly with Axfood's Willys, Hemköp, and City Gross in Sweden.
• Lidl Sverige: German-headquartered hard-discount grocer operating more than 200 stores in Sweden. Most direct discount-grocery competitor to Willys, exerting significant pricing pressure on Axfood's largest banner.
• Rema 1000: Danish-origin hard-discount grocery chain operating across the Nordics including Norway and Sweden. Closest discount-format competitor to Willys within Scandinavia, with comparable price-positioning strategy.

Broad incumbents

• Tesco: UK-headquartered multi-format grocery and wholesale retailer (Tesco stores, Booker wholesale). Comparable integrated retail-plus-wholesale operating model mirroring Axfood's Willys/Hemköp plus Snabbgross structure.
• Carrefour: Global multi-format grocery retailer (hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount) with broad European footprint. Comparable end-to-end grocery value chain and private-label scale, though operating at much larger geographic scale than Axfood.

Regional players

• NorgesGruppen: Norway's largest grocery group operating Meny, Kiwi, Rema 1000 (discount), and Joker formats. Comparable Nordic multi-banner grocery operator with strong private-label portfolio similar to Axfood's Garant.
• S Group: Finnish retail cooperative operating Prisma hypermarkets, S-market supermarkets, and Alepa convenience stores. Comparable Nordic multi-format grocery operator competing for regional supply and consumer mindshare.
• Kesko: Finnish retail conglomerate operating K-food stores, K-market, and K-Citymarket hypermarkets in Finland plus Baltic states. Comparable Nordic multi-format grocery and building-supply retailer with similar integrated supply-chain model.
• Reitan Convenience: Nordic convenience retail operator (Narvesen, 7-Eleven, Pressbyr) active in Sweden and Norway. Comparable in scale and geographic footprint to Axfood's Tempo/Handlar'n local-store network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AxfoodAB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/axfood
• Instagraminstagram.com/axfoodkoncernen
• Xx.com/axfood
• Facebookfacebook.com/axfoodkoncernen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Axfood