Danish shops prepare for crisis situations
Salling Group is equipping 51 shops to remain open during power cuts or cyber-attacks.
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The Danish supermarket group Salling Group is fitting out 51 shops as so-called emergency shops. Customers should be able to buy basic supplies there during a crisis, while the shops must be able to operate for at least 48 hours without a normal power or internet connection.
The shops will receive additional supplies including water, non-perishable food, batteries, hygiene products and baby items. The group comprises 17 Bilka shops, 32 Føtex department stores and two Netto branches, Salling Group said in a press release on 22 October.
The company says the shops will be equipped with emergency power for refrigeration, lighting and till systems. Payments must also be possible offline through a partnership with payment processor Nets. Card payments will then be temporarily reserved and processed later when the connection has been restored.
According to Salling Group, the shops should be ready during 2027. The chain wants around 80 per cent of Denmark's population to live no more than 50 kilometres from such a shop. Other branches would also remain open as far as possible during a crisis, but the 51 designated shops will be given priority in preparations.
The measure is not a government programme, but a business plan that aligns with Danish recommendations on household stockpiles and societal resilience. Salling Group cites prolonged power cuts, cyber-attacks and extreme weather as situations in which the shops could play a role.
For Dutch supermarket companies, the combination of stock, emergency power and offline payments is particularly relevant. The Danish approach shows that continuity of food sales depends not only on transport and stock, but also on energy supply, digital connections and payment infrastructure. It is not clear from the sources consulted whether Dutch chains are planning comparable nationwide networks.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Salling Group is planning 51 shops with emergency power and offline payment options.
- The shops must be operational in 2027.
- The plan comes from a supermarket company, not the Danish government.
Left
Arguments Food supplies and basic services are public infrastructure. Large supermarket chains should therefore be required and publicly supervised to prepare for crises.
Values Equality, public responsibility and protection of vulnerable households.
Consequences Greater security during outages, but potentially higher costs for companies and consumers.
Centre
Arguments Co-operation between government and the market can be practical: companies retain their logistical expertise, while the government sets minimum requirements and provides oversight.
Values Resilience, efficiency and institutional co-operation.
Consequences A workable network without full nationalisation, but with questions over who pays and who is liable.
Right
Arguments Companies should be able to decide for themselves how they cover risks. Competition and households' own responsibility are more efficient than a heavy national system.
Values Market freedom, subsidiarity and individual responsibility.
Consequences Lower public costs, but potentially unequal access if crisis provisions are mainly profitable in densely populated areas.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core is based on a recent business statement and an independent account of it. The uncertainty over a Dutch follow-up is explicitly identified as missing information.
- confirmed Salling Group is fitting out 51 shops as crisis shops. — Confirmed in Salling Group's press release. source
- confirmed The shops must be able to operate for at least 48 hours without normal power or internet. — Mentioned in the company information and the Ritzau report. source
- confirmed Around 80 per cent of the population must live within 50 kilometres of a crisis shop. — Included in Salling Group's press release. source
Editor's note
The business plans and figures have been confirmed by Salling Group and an independent Ritzau report. There is no indication that this is a Danish government programme.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „denemarken supermarkten”
- FD — „denemarken supermarkten”
- AD — „denemarken supermarkten”