ICA Group is one of the Nordic region’s leading retail companies with about 2,230 own and retailer-owned stores in Sweden, Norway and the Baltic region. The Group includes ICA Sverige, ICA Norge, Rimi Baltic, and ICA Banken. The Group had 22,023 annual employees in average 2008 (not counting store employees in Sweden and employees at franchise stores in Norway).
ICA’s history began in 1917 when Hakon Swenson founded Hakonbolaget, in Västerås, Sweden. At the core of his concept lied the idea of getting individual retailers to join forces and form purchasing centers, allowing them to achieve the same economies of scale as the chains by making joint purchases, establishing stores and sharing their marketing costs. At the same time, these partnerships allowed each retailer to retain his own personal approach to customers. It's a formula that's as relevant now as it was then, and it’s called the ICA idea.
Today, ICA is a joint venture 40% owned by Hakon Invest AB and 60% by Royal Ahold. Through a shareholder agreement, the owners jointly share a controlling influence over ICA AB. The Group is one of the Nordic region’s leading retail companies, with around 2,230 of its own and retailer-owned stores in Sweden, Norway and the Baltic countries. ICA offers financial services through ICA Banken to customers in Sweden, where ICA is also one of the most popular and best-known retail brands.