Normal is a Danish bargain-priced

variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sel ...

chain primarily selling

shelf-stable food Shelf-stable food (sometimes ambient food) is food of a type that can be safely stored at room temperature in a sealed container. This includes foods that would normally be stored refrigerated, but which have been processed so that they can be s ...

and

personal care products Personal care products are consumer products which are applied on various external parts of the body such as Human skin, skin, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, lips, external genital and anal areas, as well as Human tooth, teeth and mucous membrane of ...

by national brands. It was founded by Torben Mouritsen and Bo Kristensen in 2013 with the first store in

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Its largest markets are Denmark,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Concept

The stores have a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

layout with a course that leads the customer through all their product categories before returning to the checkouts at the front of the store. Mouritsen calls the chain a hybrid between a grocery store and a

personal care Personal care products are consumer products which are applied on various external parts of the body such as skin, hair, nails, lips, external genital and anal areas, as well as teeth and mucous membrane of the oral cavity, in order to make ...

store. However, they are not considered a supermarket. The concept could be compared to Danish

chains Flying Tiger and

Søstrene Grene Søstrene Grene is a family-owned Danish multi-category retail chain. It was founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 1973 by married team Inger Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen. 'Søstrene Grene' is Danish for 'the Grene sisters'. The Grene family s ...

as they also offer a large varied selection of products at affordable/competitive prices in stores with a maze layout. However, Flying Tiger has more gimmick products and private-label food/personal care items, and Søstrene Grene has a greater focus on design and

lifestyle brand A lifestyle brand is a brand that is intended to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes. Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of maki ...

ing. According to the founders, about 80% of customers are women. During the chain's lifetime, the director of

Bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

Anders Holch Povlsen Anders Holch Povlsen (born 4 November 1972) is a Danish billionaire, CEO and sole owner of the international retail clothing chain Bestseller (which includes Vero Moda and Jack & Jones), a company founded by his parents. He is the largest share ...

, has invested so much in the chain that he's become the main shareholder with an ownership stake of 71.29% through his own investment company Heartland A/S.

Stores

The first Normal store opened on 6 April 2013 in

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

, Norway. The company is based in

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

, Denmark employing 1,972 people. and operating 682 stores (June 2024)

References

Normal

Berlingske ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

. *Lauritzen
Discount-supermarked vil fordoble antallet af butikker
Berlingske. 15 January 2016. *Pedersen
Normal-direktør: Vi har tilsyneladende ramt helt rigtigt
Berlingske. 16 May 2017. *Espersen
Ung butikskæde slår igen milliardrekord – vil åbne endnu flere butikker
Berlingske. 25 November 2023. *Mortensen
Normal-kæden udvider med nye butikker i Aarhus

Jyllands-Posten (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies.Normal buldrer frem - og slår igen milliardrekord
24 November 2023.

External links

Official website
{{varietyStores Danish brands Retail companies of Denmark Danish companies established in 2013 Retail companies established in 2013