A Haunting Farewell: Embracing the Atmosphere of Loss

As a rule, not – but when the background is the closure of the village’s only shop, most people would probably rather have been without it.

– Although it has been difficult for the store, we had the feeling that it would probably work anyway. For me it comes as a surprise, and there is a funeral atmosphere in the town, says the chairman of Ravnkilde Citizens’ Association, Hans Nybo, the following day.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Min Købmand in the Himmerland village will soon turn the key:

– We have been fighting for a long time altwhat we have. Dagrofa & Spar Nord have unfortunately chosen to recover their company mortgage with us now, wrote the merchant couple, Hanne and Finn Degn, on Facebook.

Merchant Hanne Degn. Archive photo: Martél Andersen

– We threw everything into it, but unfortunately could not withstand the pressure any longer. We sincerely hope that the city will get a new grocer into position as soon as possible, they added.

NOK 1,000

The couple will now keep the store open until the stock is used up – and they have been able to negotiate so that the customers who have deposited money into an account in the store can continue to use it.

– There are more of us who have an account – so they know in the store that we come and shop, just as it has helped to improve their liquidity, says Hans Nybo, who has had an account with 1000 kroner in it.

But does the chairman of the citizens’ association think that a grocery store can be kept alive in the future?

– In connection with an urban renewal project in the municipality, we discussed whether the grocery store could be included. Today it is owned by a company in Støvring, but if we could form a cooperative and take over the building, we could also modernize it.

Archive photo: Martél Andersen

– But the problem is – even if there is one of the employees who wants to take it over – that it will probably take some time, and will people have acquired new habits in the meantime?, says Hans Nybo, who the citizens’ association reports that it is ready to get involved, even if “it looks difficult”.

Personally, Hans Nybo and his wife have been down to shop in Min Købmand Ravnkilde on an almost daily basis – but that was not enough.

Five or six kilometers

Although not much more than 300 citizens live in Ravnkilde parish, the store has had a nice catchment area with towns like Mejlby and Nysum around it.

And there is also both a community center and a free school in the village.

– When the store closes, the nearest shopping option will be Spar in Haverslev, which is five or six kilometers away, says Hans Nybo

229,000 citizens

The announced closure in Ravnkilde is thus part of a development where more and more citizens have to travel further and further to the nearest convenience store.

So many have a long way to go shopping in the North Jutland municipalities

Proportion of people (in percent) with more than 5 km to the nearest convenience store in the municipalities of North Jutland – figures come from 2022, the figure in () is from 2012

Horn ring: 9 (6)

Frederikshavn: 4 (3)

This site: 11 (6)

Aalborg 2 (2)

Bay of Lament: 7 (9)

Brønderslev: 8 (8)

Læsø: 5 (4)

Mariagerfjord: 14 (8)

Vesthimmerland: 11 (8)

Reimage: 10 (7)

Morsø: 8 (4)

Statistics Denmark

An estimate from Statistics Denmark shows that in 2022, 229,000 citizens had five kilometers or more to the nearest grocery store. In 2012, the number was 194,000.

This is not least due to the fact that the number of grocery stores in Denmark has fallen from 4,470 in 2012 to 3,960 in 2022.

Statistics Denmark

Citizen-run supermarkets

Although many grocery stores have disappeared, especially in rural areas, and the distance to them is growing for more and more, there is also a trend that pulls in the opposite direction.

According to Dagrofa, in recent years, up to 100 citizen-run smaller supermarkets have popped up outside the biggest cities.

Decrease in almost all municipalities

The number of shops has decreased in the vast majority of municipalities: The number of grocery stores has decreased in 81 of the country’s 98 municipalities from 2012 to 2022 and increased in 7.

The decrease is primarily due to fewer merchants and kiosks.

• More people have moved further to a grocery store: 229,000 people had more than 5 km for grocery shopping in 2022, which corresponds to 3.9 per cent. of the population. In 2012, the number was 194,000 and the proportion 3.5 per cent.

• People with a long way to go shopping live in the countryside: 89 per cent. of everyone with more than 5 km for shopping lived in rural areas or in villages with less than 500 inhabitants in 2022.

• The proportion with more than five kilometers to a shop is highest among the elderly: 5.2 per cent. of all 60-69-year-olds had more than five km to the nearest convenience store in 2022. Among the 70-79-year-olds, the proportion was 4.1 per cent, while the lowest proportion was among the 20-29-year-olds, who often live in the big cities.

• The majority with more than five km to the shop have a car: 89 per cent. of the 229,000 people with more than five km to grocery stores in 2022 had at least one car in the family. Of the 11 per cent who did not have a car, 95 per cent had no or limited access to public transport (less than four departures per hour within 500 metres).

Statistics Denmark

– These stores typically open because the existing convenience store is in danger of closing or perhaps already closed. The citizens collectively collect funds – and a new store opens, explains the grocery giant.

Examples of this type of store in North Jutland include the stores in Voerså and Lendum.

2024-09-18 17:43:37
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