Business News in Brief: Danish companies finding it difficult to compete with Amazon

But at least PostNord is manning up to make sure our pickup location isn’t too far away

Danes are buying more products from foreign e-commerce sites than domestic companies.

E-commerce accounts for 23 percent of sales in Denmark. Nevertheless, only 40 percent of Danish companies have web-stores and the average delivery time is three to five days – far longer than Amazon’s one-day delivery service.

Not all bad news
Nevertheless, the outsourcing of e-commerce will at least stimulate the Danish economy, with the outflow of Danish currency returning back in Danish exports later.

Dansk Erhverv has injected 45 million kroner into the small to medium-sized business e-commerce sector, so they can grab a larger share of the ever-growing market 133.5 billion kroner Danish market.


Spar Nord purchases 27.05 percent of DAB for 236 million kroner
Spar Nord has purchased a 27.05 percent stake in Danske Andelskassers Bank (DAB) with the intention of opening up a dialogue for a full takeover. The bank has purchased 39,319,988 shares at a cost of 6 kroner per share, 58.8 percent higher than the market closing price of 3.78 kroner, costing a totally of 236 million kroner. This caused a sharp hike in the share price of 41.8 percent to 5.36 kroner when the market opened. CEO Lasse Nyby is clear about his intentions to open up a dialogue for a full purchase, suggesting it would be beneficial long-term for “both customers, shareholders and employees”.

Angel Holding files for bankruptcy after years of decreasing profits
Angel Holding, the organisation that operates Danish housing company May Fortis and clothing company Fipo Group, has filed for bankruptcy after years of decreasing profitability. The organisation currently employs 128 and had a turnover of 442 million kroner last year. The organisation is now selling off the company to interested investors through Kromann Reumerts Christian Juel Madsen.

PostNord to open more locations to match growth of eCommerce
PostNord will be opening 100 new package pickup and drop off points throughout Denmark, raising its  total to around 1,550. “The market for package delivery will only grow as e-commerce grows, thus having a strong and fine-tuned infrastructure is important,’’ explained retail chief Helle Nielsen. PostNord have suffered losses of up to 2.6 billion kroner from an approximate 80 percent fall in letters sent since the beginning of the millennium, but package deliver is a different matter, with PostNord Danmark committed to further increasing its number of automated and manned pick-up locations in supermarkets and kiosks.