Irma (supermarket)

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Irma A/S is a Danish supermarket chain. It was founded in 1886 as a small grocery selling eggs in Ravnsborggade in Nørrebro, Copenhagen. The founder was named Carl Schepler. The chain is the next oldest groceries chain in the world, beaten by Marks & Spencer. As of August 2006, the chain has 71 stores, most of which are located in the Metropolitan Copenhagen area. It is part of the Coop Danmark group.

[edit] Concept

Irma is quality-oriented mainly aiming for quality-conscious and environment-aware customers by focusing on fresh and organic products as well as packaging. Therefore, the stores have a great variety of organic products compared to other Danish supermarket, and packaging containing PVC and excessive amounts of aluminium are banned from the shelves. The same goes for chlorine-bleached products.

In 2006, Irma had discounts on many organic products, leading to a world record with over 40% of their sale being organic.