Bilka

Last updated
Bilka
Industry Retail
Genre Hypermarket
Founded1970
Founder Herman Salling
Headquarters,
Area served
Denmark
Parent Salling Group
Website Bilka.dk

Bilka is a Danish chain of hypermarkets. The first store opened in 1970 in Tilst, a suburb of Aarhus. The chain was founded by Herman Salling and is now a part of Salling Group.

Contents

Name

The name Bilka is derived from the German Billiges Kaufhaus (low-price department store), which its founder, Herman Salling had encountered during his business trips to West Germany. [1]


The First Bilka Store

The first Bilka store was the first low-cost store in Denmark. With sale area of 10000 square meters and parking space for 1200 cars, this was also the largest store in Denmark.

The opening of the first Bilka store brought revision to the regional plan for Great Aarhus from 1954. [2] According to that plan the area of Aarhus was supposed to have 2 new centers, but after the opening of the first Bilka store, this plan was no longer economically viable.

The building of the store was approved by Brabrand-Årslev Parish, since the land was part of the Brabrand Parish.The developer of the store, however decided he wanted to create remote storage for Salling Group. That is the reason why the Bilka store was functioning as an open stock market with most of the goods stocked in pallets and forklifts in the aisles during open hours.

At the beginning of 2010, the first Bilka store celebrated its 40th birthday and it was completely renovated. All of the old 31 cash registers, from 1970, were replaced with 28 new modern ones and 8 self-service terminals. Furthermore, all the departments were completely renovated and today, this store has the largest Fruits & Vegetables department in Denmark.

Bilka stores

There are Bilka stores located in the following cities:

Year openedStoreAreaCityInfo
1970Bilka29.000 m2 Tilst
1972Bilka28.700 m2 Aalborg From 1996 a part of Aalborg Storcenter
1973Bilka27.800 m2 Hundige Part of Waves
1976Bilka22.500 m2 Odense
1982Bilka20.000 m2 Ishøj Part of Ishøj Bycenter
1988Bilka12.600 m2 Slagelse
1989Bilka19.900 m2 Næstved Part of Næstved Storcenter
1993Bilka14.800 m2 Holstebro
1993Bilka19.400 m2 Vejle Former A-Z
1993Bilka19.300 m2 Kolding Part of Kolding Storcenter
1994Bilka16.500 m2 Esbjerg Former A-Z
2001Bilka14.200 m2 Horsens
2003Bilka13.000 m2 Ørestad Part of Field's
2005Bilka13.400 m2 Viborg Former A-Z
2009Bilka11.800 m2 Sønderborg Former A-Z
2011Bilka10.400 m2 Herning Former A-Z
2012Bilka Hillerød Part of Slotsarkaderne
2018Bilka Randers Part of Randers Storcenter

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aarhus</span> City in Central Denmark Region, Denmark

Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately 187 kilometres (116 mi) northwest of Copenhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabrand</span> Postal district in Central Denmark Region, Kingdom of Denmark

Brabrand is a postal district of Aarhus Municipality, Denmark. South of Brabrand, in the Aarhus river-valley, is the largest recreational area of Aarhus Municipality, comprising the Brabrand Lake and the meadow-lake of Årslev, with surrounding natural sites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICA Gruppen</span> Swedish retail franchise

ICA Gruppen AB is a Swedish retailer franchise with a focus on food and health. The group also owns a bank, real estate division and a pharmacy chain.

Netto is a Danish discount supermarket operating in Denmark, Germany and Poland. Netto is owned by Salling Group.

Salling Group A/S is Denmark's largest retailer, with a market share around 34%. It owns several chains of stores, including Netto, Føtex, Bilka, and Salling. Additionally, it holds franchise rights for Starbucks and Carl's Jr. in Denmark. Salling Group's international operations include Netto, which has expanded into Germany and Poland, and has made two unsuccessful attempts at operating in the United Kingdom. Its stores in Sweden were sold off in 2019.

Irma was a high-end chain of supermarkets in Copenhagen and other parts of eastern Denmark. Its first store was established in 1886 by Karen Marie Schepler. On 31 January 2023 Irma's owners, Coop Danmark, announced that all Irma supermarkets would be rebranded or closed within the course of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aarhus Municipality</span> Municipality in Central Denmark, Denmark

Aarhus Municipality, known as Århus Municipality until 2011, is a kommune in the Central Denmark Region, on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gellerup</span> Neighborhood in Aarhus Municipality, Central Denmark Region, Kingdom of Denmark

Gellerup is a neighborhood of the Brabrand district in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. The neighborhood was formerly a suburb that has now completely merged with the city and it is characterized by several natural attractions, detached house sectors, highrise apartments and an industrial park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Peter Møller</span> Danish businessman

Arnold Peter Møller, better known as A. P. Møller, was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman who was the founder of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coop amba</span> Danish retail cooperative

Coop amba, formerly FDB, is a cooperative based in Denmark. The coop has 1.9 million members and three subsidiaries. The Coop Danmark subsidiary operates the retail store chains of Kvickly, Brugsen, SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen and 365discount as well as the furniture company FDB Møbler. They previously ran the now discontinued chains Irma, Fakta & LokalBrugsen. The last two subsidiaries comprise Coop Bank and Coop Invest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netto Marken-Discount</span> German chain of discount supermarkets

Netto Marken-Discount is a German discount supermarket chain owned by the German supermarket cooperative Edeka Group, and operates mostly in the south and west of Germany. The company reached its 1000th store in 2004, then aggressively expanded to the 4000th store in 2009, making it the largest discounter in Germany.

føtex Danish retail chain

føtex is a Danish chain of supermarkets. The business was established in 1960 as the first supermarket in Denmark and later gave rise to Salling Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salling (department store)</span> Danish retail chain

Salling is a Danish retail chain that operates two department stores located in the Danish cities of Aarhus and Aalborg. The company used to be known as F. Salling Stormagasin A/S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aarhus Letbane</span> Light rail line serving Aarhus, Denmark

The Aarhus Letbane is a light rail system in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. It is operated by the company Midttrafik. The first line opened in December 2017, but the system is under continuous development and expansion. Service on the intercity section Odder to Lisbjergskolen opened on August 25, 2018. A third intercity line to Grenå opened on 30 April 2019. More lines are being planned.

Herman Christian Salling was a Danish merchant and director. He was a pioneer in the department store and retail business in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabrand Lake</span> Lake in Braband, Denmark

Brabrand Lake is a lake in the district of Brabrand (Gellerup), west of Aarhus city, Denmark. The Aarhus River passes through Brabrand Lake and it is possible to canoe all the way to the inner city from here. The lake is oblong-shaped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netto UK</span> Former discount supermarket chain

Netto was a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. Netto arrived in the United Kingdom in December 1990, as part of an internationalisation process by its Danish owner, Salling Group. By May 2010, it operated 193 stores, before it was sold to Asda. In June 2014, Salling Group returned Netto to the United Kingdom, as a 50:50 joint venture with Sainsbury's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabrand Church</span> Church in Denmark, Denmark

Brabrand Church is a church located in Brabrand Parish in Aarhus, Denmark. The church is situated in the neighbourhood Brabrand by Brabrand Lake, west of Midtbyen. The church was originally devoted to St. Martin but is today a parish church in the Church of Denmark, serving a parish population of 6.962 (2015). The Brabrand Church pastorate is shared with the South Aarslev Church to the west. The resistance fighter Alf Tolboe Jensen, executed during the Second World War, is interred in the church cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinand Salling</span> Danish merchant and entrepreneur

Ferdinand Christian Salling was a Danish merchant and entrepreneur who founded one of the largest warehouse chains and companies in Denmark. Ferdinand Salling founded the Salling warehouse chain and the company that would later own most of Dansk Supermarked. Hans Christian Salling married Karen Marie Jensen (1838–1919) on 30 July 1918 and the couple had the son Herman Salling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sønder Aarslev Church</span> Church in Aarhus, Denmark

Sønder Aarslev Church is a church located in Årslev, a small village-suburb in the western parts of Aarhus, Denmark. Årslev is situated in the Brabrand district, west of Aarhus city center. It is the church of Sønder Årslev Parish within the Church of Denmark and serves a parish population of 993 (2016). The church has an adjoining cemetery and the painter Jens Hansen-Aarslev (1847–1928) is buried there.

References

  1. "Bilka FAQ (in Danish)". Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.lpa.dk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2005. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)