Føtex, Guldsmedgade

Facts

Food and textiles under one roof

By Jens Toftgaard, Ph.d.-stipendiat (12 stories)

Nazi countersabotage in the last days of the German Occupation left a large bombed-out site on Guldsmedgade in central Aarhus. In 1960, the businessman Hermann Salling built a commercial property on the site, which opened as the first store in the Føtex chain. With the name Føtex alluding to its combination of both food and textiles, this was the first Danish hypermarket. The original product-split is still seen in the store, with the two types of goods on separate floors. Føtex was a success, and in partnership with wholesaler and shipowner A.P. Møller, the chain went on to open its hypermarkets in city centres and suburbs across Denmark.

Public place

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The supermarket – one-stop shopping!

Story written by Jens Toftgaard

Time / Periode 1960

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Even in the 1950s, the daily shop was a time-consuming affair of separate errands to the butcher's, baker's, grocer's and dairy. When Danish housewives joined the labour market, they wanted a quick and convenient means of shopping. The answer came from the USA with a brand new type of shop – the supermarket. With its wide assortment of pre-packed goods, the supermarket let customers do all their food shopping under one roof. The customers found the goods on the shelves unassisted, and they were swiftly processed through the checkouts. Føtex, a number of small independent chains and Coop Danmark's Kvickly extended the supermarket self-service concept to products such as clothing, shoes, household utensils and appliances and paper goods.