Bónus

Headquarters

Reykjavík

Iceland

Number of locations

31^[1] (2022)

Area served

Iceland
Faroe IslandsProductsDiscount storeOwnerHagar

Number of employees

1000^[1] (2019)Websitebonus.is

Bónus (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈpouːnʏs]) is an Icelandic no-frills supermarket chain owned by Hagar. Bónus operates 31 stores in Iceland and seven in the Faroe Islands. It follows the no-frills format of limited hours, simple shelves and having a giant fridge instead of chiller cabinets.

History

Bónus was started by Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson and his father, Jóhannes Jónsson, with the first store in Skútuvogur street in Reykjavík in April, 1989.^[2] Within just a few years, the chain became the biggest supermarket chain in Iceland. In 1992, another Icelandic supermarket, Hagkaup, bought a 50% stake, and in 1993, Hagkaup and Bónus established a joint purchasing company named Baugur.^[3] In 1994, the company made its first investment in Faroe Islands.^[4]

Bónus and Hagkaup are now both owned by Baugur Group's subdivision Hagar.

References

^ ^a ^b "Um Bónus". www.bonus.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved December 8, 2019.
^ Júlíusson, Þórður Snær (January 25, 2019). "Jón Ásgeir snýr aftur" [Jón Ásgeir returns]. Kjarninn (in Icelandic). Retrieved December 25, 2019.
^ Oliver, Jamie; Goodwin, Tony (2010). How They Blew It: The CEOs and Entrepreneurs Behind Some of the World's Most Catastrophic Business Failures. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7494-6065-5.
^ Jakobsson, Sverrir; Halfdanarson, Gudmundur (2016). Historical Dictionary of Iceland (3d ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 28. ISBN 9781442262911.