Norwegian retail conglomerate NorgesGruppen has reported first-half sales of NOK 50.4 billion (€4.93 billion), a 5% increase, however CEO Runar Hollevik said that he expects a "tough" outlook for the remainder of the year.
The group said that the first half of the year was marked by 'unusually high turnover', as the combination of 'abnormally low' cross-border trade, the gradual reopening of the HoReCa sector, and continued working from home have led to increased grocery sales.
In particular, the reduced cross-border trade led to sales of Norwegian products increasing by more than NOK 1 billion, which equates to 15% growth since 2019. Its MENY banner reported sales of locally-produced food to be 17.7% higher than last year.
