– It hurt. In fact, I got physically sick from it. – E24

– I’m six and a half … Seven minutes!

Ole Robert Reitan walks into Reitan Handel’s empty lobby sweeping from one meeting, already having a rough time until the next.

A single screen reminds us that most of the people who work for Reitan Handel’s CEO are not in their home office. The daily visitor meter in the group’s stores and kiosks already displays a six-digit number.

Celebrity status discovered in the military

Rema-Reitan’s eldest son grew up with Rema 1000 and was a doorman when he opened the first store in his hometown, Trondheim, when he was 8 years old. Even then, he had store experience as a bottle sorter, carton press, and milk keel filler at his grandfather’s shop.

But actually, he wanted to be a musician. He was a drummer for Midland, Trønder’s pop rock band, and had a dream of becoming a pop star. Until he realized it wasn’t good enough.

– I grew up in my grandfather’s store and grew up with my father’s dream of becoming a grocer and having been on the road since I was little. So slowly but surely, I realized my heart was in the business, Reitan says on this week’s episode of E24’s Voksenpoeng podcast.

Listen to the full interview where you usually find his podcasts or in the player below.

His career in pop was scrapped in favor of studies at the Norwegian School of Management, after a trip to the military. It was only when he discovered that Rema-Reitan was in the process of consolidation far beyond the borders of Trøndelag.

– In Trondheim there were so many large families, great names with a long tradition. We were a lousy merchant family with a couple of stores. That was my impression until I left the army. I met a guy who went completely crazy when he realized I was Reitan.

Imitate the recruit: “Wow!”

– I was like that, what’s so special about it, because I was used to being anonymous and small and sweet, hehe! It was only then that I realized that we were in the process of building a company that was small in size and that people knew about, Reitan says.

I got tired of e-commerce failure

He believes he was never a light school, much less interested in analysis and numbers than his brother, Magnus Reitan, who today runs Reitan Kapital. But in market university he found his mark.

– I had the wonderful pleasure of studying, and suddenly I did very well.

With a lot of self-confidence thanks to his studies, he got the hang of a kind of entrepreneurial position in the family business at age 25. Despite the fact that fewer Norwegians had fast internet access in 1996, Rema 1000 was going to start an online store: “Rema home to you”. 130 people were employed, the money ran out.

– It was a very good idea, but it was at least twenty years before, says Reitan, who today is on the proprietary side of Kolonial.no.

Browse the gallery or follow Voksenpoeng_med_Nora on Instagram to read Ole Robert Reitan’s school journal.

About two years later, there was a hook on the door, and he woke up to the front page of the newspaper in Dagens Næringsliv: “Big failure for Reitan junior.” 130 people had to be fired that day.

– It hurt. In fact, I got physically sick from it.

After a “root soak” in Lorry, the 27-year-old fled to Spain, had to leave. A week later he was in the hospital with mastitis.

– I was completely connected. It was a great experience, but when I first got to the hooks, it was one of the most important pillars of my professional life, says Reitan.

He learned not to bring thoughts and worries into the shower or at night.

– How did the family handle it?

– In fact, I think I’m the one who has bullied me the most. When I put a lot of irony, I give lectures where I talk about having the most expensive e-commerce education in Norwegian history, then you take all of that apart. That’s good advice, Reitan says with a smile.

Best friend: – Miserable craftsmanship.

It didn’t take long for him to sulk after the stomach spasm. Rema’s then boss, Tom Kristiansen, thought there was a lot to be said for the fading, but one thing young Reitan should have done: he had been able to raise awareness about the project.

Kristiansen thought that Reitan was an excellent marketer and should become a marketing manager at Rema 1000. Father Odd Reitan was skeptical.

– That went really well. I spent little time building the position that we finally got “Simple is often best”, of which I am still very proud.

With Reitan as marketing director also came the series of ads that belonged to the slogan – many can better remember “Doffen har daua”.

Several years passed before it was reduced again; By then, Reitan had taken over as CEO of Reitan Handel. In 2016, Rema wanted to come to terms with the various purchasing conditions of the suppliers, because they thought that the competitor had gained too great an advantage. The result was the “best friend plan”, by the way, a name that was never intended for the public.

It attracted the attention and anger of customers. People spoke about a boycott and went in torchlight procession for the soda Urge, which would disappear from Rema’s store shelves.

– The way we proceeded in the negotiations with our suppliers and the way it was perceived … obviously in hindsight it was a terribly clumsy communication job. It was primarily my fault and terrible craftsmanship.

Reitan emphasizes that he believes that Rema was clear on what the entire basis of the conflict was.

– I learned that it doesn’t help to be right if you don’t get it right. There is not always a straight line between where you are and the goal. We are from Trøndelag, we are speaking directly from the liver. But sometimes it’s reckless, he says.

“Pretend until you get it”

Reitan believes that the reason why the top positions have mostly left despite the young age is due to trained colleagues, combat with family, interest in management theory, but also because he has what it takes to lead.

According to her mother, she started kindergarten with open arms, walked straight in and proclaimed “Here I am!”

He laughs a lot at that story.

– Oh my. Perhaps I have become more restrained over the years. But I think some natural conditions must be present.

However, he may not want to throw his own children into such deep waters as quickly as he was thrown himself. Reitan believes that there is a difference between taking on a little more responsibility than he thinks he is absolutely sure of being prepared and doing his best as he did.

– But “pretend until you get it” is a pretty good catchphrase. I think all young people should do that: take on a challenge that is a little bigger than you feel comfortable all the time, but don’t take too big steps.