Turning the Tide: Inside the Transformation of Coop Øst
A CEO’s Playbook for Purpose-Driven Performance
When Gøril Joys Johnsen assumed the role of CEO at Coop Øst in August 2023, she stepped into a company that had long posed a challenge for Coop in Norway. With years of financial losses and persistent issues in store operations, the company had on several occasions required emergency support from the broader Coop community. Her predecessor had made significant improvements, but the Norwegian operations were still facing a negative financial trajectory.
In less than eighteen months, Johnsen and her team not only reversed this trend but delivered a profit of NOK 147 million in Norway and NOK 307 million across the entire business.
In this interview with Amrop's Consumer & Retail Practice, she shares insights into the turnaround, the challenges encountered, and how she involved the organization to create sustainable change.
Download the full interview here.
"If you are going to develop an organization you must first understand it."
The Norwegian grocery retail market is highly concentrated and dominated by a few large players. Three companies – NorgesGruppen, Rema 1000, and Coop – control over 95% of the market, enabling significant economies of scale and highly efficient logistics operations. This concentrated structure has driven intense competition and an emphasis on efficiency across the industry.
Over the past two decades, low-price retail formats have cemented their dominance in Norway. Value-tier private-label lines such as First Price, Xtra, and Eldorado have experienced particularly strong growth under this discount-focused model. Norwegian consumers are extremely price-conscious, which has fueled the success of these low-cost offerings. At the same time, consumer expectations are rising in areas such as sustainability, local food products, and digital services, adding new dimensions to what shoppers demand beyond just low prices. 
Profit margins are under constant pressure, driven by government regulations and rising procurement costs. As a result, retailers are forced to manage margins very tightly across their operations. In this context, vertical integration has become a key structural advantage – for example, NorgesGruppen’s control over its logistics and distribution network gives it a cost edge.
Major grocery chains are investing in digital tools and process improvements to streamline operations and drive down costs. However, product differentiation remains limited due to the persistent emphasis on a low-price strategy. Online grocery shopping has, so far, achieved only low penetration in Norway compared to other markets. As a result, traditional brick-and-mortar stores continue to dominate, unlike in some countries where e-commerce has become a significant grocery channel.
The Recruitment Process
Gøril Joys Johnsen tells us, "I was approached by Amrop while serving as CEO at ARK Bokhandel, and I had no plans to leave. I had a great team and exciting projects ahead. But honestly, this was too compelling an opportunity to turn down.
Coop Øst is a cooperative I had followed closely during my previous years with Coop. It was inspiring to observe how the team had, by focusing on its people, built both culture and results. Coop is owned by its customers, and that dimension is deeply meaningful to me. Taking on the CEO role at Coop Øst meant having the chance to create additional value for our many members while making the cooperative more robust and future-ready. Of course, it was also appealing to collaborate once again with former colleagues in Coop Norge and the wider Coop ecosystem."
In a January 2023 press release, Kjetil Monssen Ebbesberg, Chairman of the Board at Coop Øst SA, said, “We wanted a leader with solid executive experience, someone with a strong customer and market orientation. Strategic, innovative, visionary, commercially minded—those were some of the key traits we were seeking in the new CEO of Coop Øst SA. Gøril has a robust leadership background, deep knowledge of both the retail and grocery sectors, and valuable insight into Coop and the cooperative movement.”
“Equally important, Gøril is a people-focused leader. We are confident she will continue building on our culture and talent development. With her appointment, Coop Øst also welcomes its first female CEO since the cooperative was founded in 1887. We are thrilled to have her lead this fantastic team forward,” Ebbesberg added.
An Ambitious Start
What was the situation when you assumed the role at Coop Øst?
I knew Coop Øst had seen a solid trajectory over time, but we were still in a place where we couldn't rely on surplus from our Swedish operations. The 2024 financial plan projected a NOK 15 million loss for Norwegian operations, and that simply wasn't acceptable. With revenue exceeding NOK 9 billion, we couldn't justify operating at a loss. So, I set a clear goal with the organization: NOK 100 million in profit from Norwegian operations."
How did the organization respond to such a bold goal?
Many probably thought it was overly ambitious - perhaps even unrealistic. But I believe most appreciated the clarity. A single, memorable number gave us something to rally around. We already had a lot of talented people; it was about aligning efforts and focusing on the right priorities. 
How did you build trust around your vision and plan?
For me, the most important thing was getting to know and listening to the organization. With 2,800 skilled colleagues across 114 stores, it was natural to spend the first months visiting every single one. From Halden to Beitostølen, I set aside time to truly connect, not just to check a box. There’s tremendous knowledge out there and not tapping into it would be a mistake. Those months on the road became the foundation for everything we're doing today.
It also made it easier to bring people on board. I can say with full sincerity: 'You set the agenda - everything we’re doing is based on what you shared with me.' I know the names of all 121 store managers. It's easy for me to reach out, ask questions, and seek advice. I never refer to our store employees as 'staff' but as colleagues - equals with deep expertise and experience.
Being out there also means being mentally present. I'm genuinely curious about people, and I believe talented individuals are motivated by clear goals they understand how to reach. High performers appreciate being challenged. People want to be seen not just when things go well, but especially when times are tough. I believe in clarity. No one should wonder whether I’m satisfied or dissatisfied - they should know I’ll be honest and transparent.
Strategic Measures and Employee Engagement
What concrete actions were taken to turn the losses into profits?
We focused heavily on building a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and, importantly, growth-oriented thinking. One of the lessons I took from my time at ARK is the absolute necessity of growth. At Coop Øst, there had historically been a strong focus on cost control, which was understandable given where we were coming from - but that mindset needed to evolve. We had to strike a balance. Yes, we must keep costs in check, but not at the expense of developing the company.
A good example is shrinkage. Having a singular focus on reducing shrinkage can be counterproductive. We need the right level of shrinkage - if it's too low, we’re likely understocked and losing sales. Take bread, for instance. We must have fresh bread available throughout opening hours, even if that means discarding some loaves at the end of the day.
At the same time as we focused on continuous improvement, we also built our new program to deliver good customer meetings, which we have called "Comprehensive customer experience". In short, it is about delivering on all customer expectations. The part of the customer experience that we in the cooperative have the most influence on starts when the customer drives into the parking lot. There should be solid asphalt, flags on all flagpoles, proper signage both outside and inside the store, a clean and inviting entrance, and there should be an abundance of products throughout the store. Of course, we should also have the best people in place, and we should be available to our customers. We have created very specific descriptions of what is expected, and the deliveries are measured both through "Mystery shoppers", ongoing customer surveys and key figures. The new program has been very well received in stores, and we see that customers like what we do.
Leadership and Driving Change
You’re known for strongly involving employees in change processes. How do you approach this?
Openness and involvement come naturally to me. Yes, it takes more time to involve people at all levels, but the result is greater ownership and a much deeper understanding of our direction, and the adjustments needed to get there.
We recently completed our strategic planning process, and we formed working groups with people from across the organization — from stores to the support office. The board was also actively involved. Now the focus is on translating strategy from PowerPoint to action, and we’re already in full execution mode.
I’m passionate about showing everyone how they contribute to realizing our strategy through their daily work in stores. Even though we’ve gone through a lot of change in the past 18 months, I believe people are motivated and feel part of a winning team. They believe in what we’re doing, and that belief is evident in their willingness to raise the bar—for example, by setting a higher target for 2025 than we had in 2024.
How critical is the leadership team in a turnaround like this?
It’s absolutely essential. None of this would have been possible without a strong and cohesive leadership team. I was fortunate to inherit three leaders with whom I work very well. I also brought in a new head of People and Strategy — someone I’ve worked closely with in the past.
Our leadership group is a diverse mix of personalities and expertise, and that’s a real strength. Diversity fuels development. We have intense debates, but once we align, we are all fully committed. No single leader can turn around an organization alone—it takes a team that complements each other, challenges each other, and pulls in the same direction.
Leadership Philosophy
You’ve led ARK Bokhandel and held leadership roles at Coop Norge. How have those experiences shaped you?
Every experience has shaped me in some way. I’ve always prioritized the customer perspective—regardless of the industry. It's about creating great customer experiences while running a profitable business. My background in both grocery and books has taught me the importance of combining operational insight with strategic thinking.
I'm a trained economist, and I’m grateful for that financial foundation. It helps with prioritization and decision-making. In grocery retail, margins are razor-thin and volumes are massive. Understanding how decimals scale up is critical. We must manage both the pennies and the pounds. In retail, success is often won by managing 'the cents,' not 'the hundreds.'
Do you have a personal leadership philosophy or set of guiding principles?
I don’t follow a named leadership philosophy, but there are several principles I hold dear. Too often, I see leaders who have forgotten (or perhaps never understood) the value of actively listening to those around them. It's incredible what you can learn from listening to others, regardless of what level they are at in the organization. I am genuinely curious about other people and finding out where their expertise lies. This comes in handy because it is important that I use the organization around me, highlight talents and contribute to development at all levels.
I am also very keen to "have the back" of those I work with. People should feel confident that I will go to war for them if needed. That doesn't mean that I accept everything. I am keen that people should always have an opportunity to deliver, but also that there should be a consequence if you don't deliver when you have been given the opportunity. I value clarity and honesty highly from others, and I strive to deliver on these parameters myself. I need to be able to explain to people why we set the goals we set, and how we will work together to get there.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your role so far?
That large organizations can respond incredibly fast - and that working in operations, where customer feedback is immediate, is incredibly rewarding. Clear goals, inclusive culture, and relentless focus on improvement make big transformations possible in a short time. We've proven that profitable growth is achievable, even in a tough market - and I’m excited for what’s next.
To succeed in improving results in a large, distributed organization like Coop Øst, I believe four fundamentals must be in place:
- Understand the business. As a leader, you can’t just ‘lead’ — you have to get into the details and understand the full operation before making changes. You need facts. Being informed about both good and poor results helps create shared understanding and focus.
- Build trust. Trust from the board and owners. Proximity to where it matters most: the stores and every single customer interaction. See your people, motivate them, and cheer them on.
- Prioritize. Our role is to set up stores for success. It’s in the stores that customers engage with us. Everyone else exists to support excellence in that moment of truth.
- Mutual respect and honesty. Be candid with yourself and others about what’s working and what’s not. Only then can we lift each other and improve together.
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