Redefining the hypermarket experience to defend a premium position and drive growth
Founded in 1959, Hagkaup is one of Iceland’s most established retail brands, operating seven large-format stores with approximately 700 employees and a product range of more than 60,000 items. Positioned as a premium hypermarket, Hagkaup was struggling to increase sales and drive traffic to its stores — and to deliver a store experience that clearly justified the position.
CO/PLUS was brought in to sharpen Hagkaup’s value proposition and translate it into a renewed store concept, defined by the ambition “Iceland’s most fun place to shop.”
This ambition was realised through a redesign of the in-store experience and customer journey across key departments, including food, toys and cosmetics. The work focused on improving navigation, communication and overall look and feel to create a more premium and engaging experience — achieved with minimal investment. To further drive traffic and engagement, CO/PLUS introduced new in-store hero concepts including Haggaland, Skalin and Refurinn. Beyond adding experiential value, these concepts function as new traffic drivers, increasing frequency and time spent in-store.
As part of the strategic review, we identified unutilized assets in Hagkaup’s central kitchen — predictable lazy hourswhere skilled staff and production facilities stood idle. We utilized these lazy hours to establish Veisluréttir, a catering business built entirely on existing infrastructure. By activating unutilized assets, Hagkaup converted dormant capacity into a new revenue stream without significant additional investment.
The work became the outset for a broader optimisation and refresh of Hagkaup’s seven stores. As a result, customers no longer perceive Hagkaup as overly expensive, while both traffic and sales have increased. Skalin and Refurinn, in particular, have proven highly popular, strengthening engagement and reinforcing the experience-driven store concept.
