Norvik’s roots go back to 1962 with the founding of the hardware store BYKO. Now BYKO is Iceland’s largest home improvement retailer and supplier to the professional sector of the building industry, with eight DIY stores as well as timber yards, a large building materials and plumbing division and 8 rental shops.
Under Norvik´s Speciality Retailing division is ELKO.
ELKO was established 28th February 1998. The company operates two home appliance and electrical good superstores in the Reykjavik area and is Iceland´s market leader in home appliances.
The latest addition to the ELKO superstores is a Duty Free Store in Keflavik Airport.
One Store in the departure area abt. 250 qm and onother "store in store" Store abt. 80 qm in arrival section of the Duty Free Store.Also under this umbrella are two Intersport sportswear stores and Husgagnahollin, a furniture super-store.
Norvik also owns Kaupas Inc., the holding company owns 39 grocery stores in three chains, Noatun, 11-11, and Kronan.
Axent, another Norvik company, produces and exports Icelandic wool products.
BYKO-LAT, registered in Riga, Latvia, is also part of Norvik and specializes in the processing and export of timber and other wood products from Latvia and Russia to various European countries and Asia.
In September 2003 Norvik acqired the company SIA CED, in Latvia, which is well known in the Latvian timber industry. Its main function is sawing, seasoning of wood and all other related processing.
In March 2003 BYKO-Lat opened a sales office in the UK. When Continental Wood was bought this office was closed.
In November 2004 Norvik purchases the company Wayland Timber Products Ltd., wholesaler and distributor, selling processed timber products, mainly for gardens and fences. Later this company was merged to Continental Wood Products Limited, which is one of the largest impoerters of timber to Britain from the Baltic countries. The headquarters are in Westerham, Kent, south of London. The Company charters its own vessels from transport from Estonia and Latvia, and runs a large harbor in Creeksee by the source of the river Crouch which is east of London. There the main stock and distribution of lumber within Britain is located. Employees are around 60.
In November 2004 Norvik purchased the company Wayland Timber Products Ltd. Wayland Timber Products is located in Peterborough and Wellingborough in England and is a well-established wholesaler and distributor, selling processed timber products, mainly for gardens and fences.
SIA CED and Wayland Timber are BYKO-LAT´s subsidiaries.
2007 Norvik hf. acquired Latvia´s largest sawmill, Vika Wood. This will place the Icelandic group in control of the fifth biggest timber industsry operation in Latvia. Vika Wood sawmill was established in 1995 and has developed into the largest sawmill in Latvia with current output capacities of 280.000 cbm of sawn spruce and pine.
Norvik has been in the Latvian timber industry since 1993 and curently employs some 800 people in it´s timber operations throughout Latvia.
Norvik Timber Industries deal with forest operations and saw mills in the Komi Republic in Russia
Smaragardur, an affilliated company of Norvik, is the property division of the company.
Norvik has its own advertising and marketing division, EXPO.
A purchasing office was opened in China in 2003.
Norvik imports from all of Iceland’s major trading partners: Europe, Asia and the USA.
By 2004, Norvik was Iceland’s tenth largest company with a total turnover of over $415 million.
All the companies in the group are 100% owned by Norvik hf.
Norvik employs nearly 3,000 people.
Norvik has enjoyed success in recent years and is committed to maintaining its position as Iceland’s leading wholesaler and retailer.