Reitan: Brand Architecture and Identity for Nordic Retail Group

Reitan, one of Norway's largest privately owned holding companies with brands such as REMA 1000 and Narvesen, needed a simpler brand architecture across seven countries. Nonspace developed a new naming structure, brand architecture, visual identity and website, and the company was renamed Reitan AS.

Highlights

A Norwegian quote about Reitan being a symbol of common sense and craftsmanship over misty landscape — by Nonspace

Nonspace merkevarearkitektur og ny visuell identitet for Reitan

A vintage photograph of the original O. Reitan corner grocery store in Norway selling fish, delicatessen, and tobacco — by Nonspace

About the project

The Reitan Group is a Norwegian family-owned company and one of the leading retail and service organisations in the Nordic and Baltic regions. With operations spanning convenience retail, real estate, and investment, the group includes well-known brands like REMA 1000, Reitan Convenience, and Reitan Eiendom, built on values of simplicity, responsibility, and long-term thinking.

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The company has active ownership in some of Norway's most recognisable and loved brands, such as REMA 1000, YX, Uno-X, Narvesen, 7-Eleven, Solvinge and Kjeldsberg, to mention a few. With a complex company structure and active ownership of brands in seven countries in the Nordic and the Baltic region, REITAN saw the need to reposition themselves, refine their brand architecture and redesign their brand.

Brand

Brand Strategy

Visual Identity

Web Development

Founded in 1948, REITAN has a vision of being the most value-driven company in the world. Not everyone can see the connection between the company’s brand values and the strong brands in their portfolio. REITAN’s story of success has also resulted in complex company structures that make it hard to navigate the business areas and their brand universe. Being active in seven countries demands that their brand work across different cultures and languages.

With a renewed focus and ambition of creating a brand strategy that can grow over time, we needed to define their brand hierarchy and business areas while modernising the brand without losing sight of their strong history.

Together with the client we saw the need for creating a design system for their business to grow in the future. To do this we had to create a new brand strategy, to ensure increased growth over time, and continue to position them as the most value-driven company.

Through multiple workshops and processes with the client, we developed a strategy that follows a new structure, so as they grow new business areas they can use human behaviour as the guiding principle for naming future areas. Our focus was on internal communications, making their structures more visible in their main areas of business, where they went from six different business areas to three: Retail, Property and Finance.

While most people in Norway can pronounce Reitangruppen (Reitangroup), most people in the Nordic and Baltic regions stick to Reitan. During our process, we looked into naming systems that could simplify their branding hierarchy and make it easier for everyone to understand the brand structure. The company was renamed to REITAN AS.

To create a sustainable brand architecture and build a visual identity we focused on the many great qualities and characteristics of the brand that could bring REITAN new life, and at the same time preserve their legacy. In an increasingly modernised and international market, the identity needed to convey stability, flexibility, and confidence.

REITAN’s new design platform, system and website focus on their brand storytelling, redefining Reitan visually as a heritage brand. A brand with a long history and a lot of weight, renewed and ready for the future.