During 2025, the number of chain-affiliated stores in Sweden increased by 125 units, corresponding to a rise of 1 percent. This is the first time since 2018 that the physical store inventory in the country has grown, according to the report Sveriges Butiker from HUI Research.
This news represents a clear turning point compared to the development in previous years. Exactly one year ago, Ehandel.se reported on how store closures accelerated as over 300 stores disappeared, which then marked the sixth consecutive annual decline. Now, that curve has been broken.
Despite the addition, the total number of chain-affiliated stores in Sweden amounts to 19,164. Over a longer period, since the measurements began in 2017, the total inventory has thus decreased by a total of 1,550 stores, or 7.5 percent.
Concentrated Growth in the Low-Price Segment
According to HUI Research, it is primarily low-price retail that is behind the current turnaround. Since 2017, the number of low-price stores within non-frequent purchase retail has grown by 438 units. During the same period, the low-price segment's share of the total store inventory has increased from 13 to 18 percent, a development in which Danish-owned low-price chains, in particular, have expanded their store network by 82 percent.
Andreas Svensson, senior analyst at HUI Research, notes that the figures show a change but also urges caution regarding the overall picture:
After several years of declining store inventory, the increase is a trend break. At the same time, it is too early to talk about a broad recovery. Growth is concentrated in certain parts of retail, primarily low-price concepts, while other types of stores continue to decline.
New Formats in Grocery Retail
A restructuring of store networks is also taking place within grocery retail. The total number of stores in the sector is at a stable level, but beneath the surface, the formats are shifting. Low-price stores, hypermarkets and unmanned stores are becoming increasingly common, while medium-sized stores are decreasing in number.
In addition to low-price retail and the new grocery formats, optics retail also stands out in the mapping. The industry is one of a total of five subsectors that have grown since 2017, with an increase of 13 percent to a total of 854 stores.