Rusta's business concept
At Rusta, we make it easy to buy high-quality home and leisure products at the best prices. We offer our customers products within Seasonal Products, Home Decoration, Leisure & Do It Yourself and Consumables for anyone who wants to renew and refresh both inside and outside their homes.
The range is constantly renewed and adapted continuously according to trends and seasons. Rusta markets several of its own brands, in addition to familiar international brands.
Our business model is based on simple purchasing processes and avoiding expensive intermediaries. At the same time, Rusta works with a broad range in large volumes and efficient logistics, where we are our own importer, wholesaler, distributor and retailer.
The first store was opened in 1986 by entrepreneurs Anders Forsgren and Bengt-Olov Forssell, who are still the principal owners of the company. Rusta currently has 239 stores in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany.
At Rusta, we want our customers to feel welcome, to be inspired and to find shopping with us fun. Quite simply, we make it a little easier to buy high-quality products at the market’s best prices in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Germany.
Management
In 2012, the founders of Rusta, Anders Forsgren and Bengt-Olov Forssell, handed over the running of the company to CEO Göran Westerberg, and the current management team at Rusta is:
- Göran Westerberg, CEO
- Sofie Malmunger, Group Head of Finance & IT
- Jozef Khasho, Group Head of Sales
- Linda Estenthal, Group Head of Market Communications
- Annica Nyström, Group Head of Range
- Viswakumar Ananthakrishnan, Group Head of Sourcing
- Anna Bergstedt, Group Head of Supply Chain
- Annika Holm Sundström, Group Head of HR
- Per Wennerström, Group Head of Online
Anders Forsgren and Bengt-Olov Forssell's family are still the majority shareholders of Rusta, just as they have been ever since they founded it in 1986.
Focus on sustainability
Great value for money means good quality at the lowest price. But also that we actively work to ensure that our products are socially and environmentally sustainable. At Rusta we believe that everyone should be able to make sustainable choices at the lowest price. It should not be expensive to choose sustainably.
Rusta's vision is to become Europe's leading and most trusted low-price retailer. We take our sustainability work very seriously and continuously strive to improve. At Rusta, it should be easy to renew and replenish at home, without having to compromise on our shared responsibility towards future generations. In recent years, we have therefore phased out all disposable plastic items, such as cutlery, glasses, straws and tops. In addition, we have reduced the amount of plastic in our packaging and during transport.
We are far from finished yet, but we promise to do what we can to continue to reduce our environmental impact at a rapid pace.
Warehouse and logistics
Rusta´s central warehouse located in Norrköping is as of the financial year 2019/2020 one of the largest distribution centers in the Nordics. To have one centralized distribution center means that we can collect all our goods under one roof. This eliminates unnecessary transports while improving filling rates, which means that we can lower both environmental impact and costs.
The location for our distribution center is carefully chosen to ensure:
· Vicinity to container port in the harbor (1 km) to reduce transportation distance
· Vicinity to railroad to enable railway transportation both to and from warehouse
· Vicinity to main urban centers, with highway access to minimize distribution distance
Distribution to our stores
Rusta´s central replenishment system secures that our products are delivered at the right time, to the right place and in the right amount. The system helps us reduce unnecessary transportation of goods to and back from our stores. In addition, flexible delivery route planning allows us to choose the most suitable delivery schedule for the stores. Moreover, the warehouse management system ensures that every pallet is full – all in order to ensure that our transports are filled to the maximum, thereby minimising emissions. To avoid traffic and save fuel, whenever possible, we deliver all goods during the night. In the north of Sweden, we utilise railroad for distribution of goods to nearby stores."
