REMA 1000 is a multinational no-frills supermarket chain owned entirely by the Reitan Group (Reitangruppen). REMA is a short for REitan MAt (Reitan Food), referring to Odd Reitan (founder of the company). 1000 refers to the concept of offering a selection of only one thousand different products.
With their headquarters located in Oslo, Norway, REMA 1000 includes businesses in Norway, Denmark, Sweden. The chain is based on a franchised discount concept: buying large quantities of a limited range of products and offering these to semi-independent owners under their brand. By 2004, REMA 1000 includes 444 supermarkets spread around Scandinavia.
In Norway, the supermarket chain captured 17.5% (2004) of the total revenue by all Norwegian supermarkets, taking the lead over its closest rival RIMI. By market share it is therefore the single largest supermarket chain in the country.