Pilersuisoq
Encyclopedia
Pilersuisoq A/S
Aktieselskab
An aktieselskab is the Danish name for a stock-based corporation. An aktieselskab can be both publicly traded and private.-Liability:...

 is a state-owned chain of all-purpose general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

s in Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

. Based in Sisimiut
Sisimiut
Sisimiut is a town in central-western Greenland, located on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately north of Nuuk. It is the administrative center of the Qeqqata Municipality and the second-largest town in Greenland, with a population of 5,460 people as of 2010. The site of the present-day town...

, it is a subsidiary of KNI
KNI (Greenland Trade)
KNI A/S is a state-owned trade company in Greenland. Led by Søren Lennert Mortensen, the company is based in Sisimiut.- History :KNI was founded in 1774 as Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel by the Danish colonial authorities as a state monopoly, thus sharing its origin with Royal Greenland, the...

, the largest commerce company in the country. Lars Behrendt is the administrative director of the company since 2008.

Operations

The chain operates 68 outlets in all small settlements in the country, as well as smaller towns which are not covered by supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

 chains such as Pisiffik
Pisiffik
Pisiffik A/S is the largest privately owned commerce company in Greenland. It is a subsidiary of Dagrofa, the Danish food concern, with a 85.8% stake. The Government of Greenland owns the remaining stake in Pisiffik through Greenland Venture...

 or Brugsen
Brugsen
right|thumb|250px|A Dagli'Brugsen in Northeast Copenhagen. Brugsen is a shorthand for the Danish word 'Brugsforeningen', which means consumers' cooperative. It is also the name of a Danish supermarket chain which was born as a consumers' cooperative....

. The stores in remote settlements are supplied by Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line
Royal Arctic Line A/S or Royal Arctic is a freight company in Greenland, formed in 1992 and headquartered in Nuuk. It has 650 employees and is owned by the Government of Greenland...

, but the intervals between the shipments are long, with some settlements supplied only twice a year as in Ittoqqortoormiit
Ittoqqortoormiit
Ittoqqortoormiit is a settlement in the Sermersooq municipality in eastern Greenland. Its population is 469 as of 2010.The Danish name Scoresbysund derives from the name of the Arctic explorer and whaler William Scoresby, who was the first to map the area in 1822. The Greenlandic name...

, or even once a year as in Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...

.

Supplies to all settlements in eastern Greenland will be more effectively distributed from Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 due to thinning of the ice in the Denmark Strait
Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait |Sound]]) is an oceanic strait between Greenland and Iceland...

 and southern Greenland Sea
Greenland Sea
The Greenland Sea is a body of water that borders Greenland to the west, the Svalbard archipelago to the east, Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Norwegian Sea and Iceland to the south. The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the...

. The new arrangement was proposed in 2010 during the annual conference of the West Nordic Council
West Nordic Council
The West Nordic Council is a cooperation forum of the parliaments and governments of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. It was initially founded in 1985 as the West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation but the name was changed in 1997. The council comprises six MPs from each...

 in Tasiilaq
Tasiilaq
Tasiilaq is a town in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland. With 1,930 inhabitants as of 2010, it is the most populous community on the eastern coast, and the seventh-largest town in Greenland...

. The Government of Greenland  has yet to respond to the proposal.

Post and banking

Pilersuisoq stores have an integrated Post Greenland
Post Greenland
Post Greenland is the company responsible for postal service in Greenland. The company is wholly owned by Tele Greenland A/S, operating under Greenland Home Rule...

 office, the employees of which also process bank operations on behalf of the Bank of Greenland
Bank of Greenland
The Bank of Greenland is the only local commercial bank in Greenland, listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as GRLA, with 2,700 shareholders as of 2010. Headquartered in Nuuk, the bank has 215 employees as of 2010.- History :...

.

Duty-free

Pilersuisoq also operates the duty-free
Duty-free shop
Duty-free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country...

 stores at the Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport
Kangerlussuaq Airport is an airport in Kangerlussuaq, a settlement in the Qeqqata municipality in central-western Greenland. Alongside Narsarsuaq Airport, it is one of only two civilian airports in Greenland large enough to handle large airliners, having more stable weather, being located further...

 and Narsarsuaq Airport, although as of August 2010 the future of all duty-free stores in Greenland (including a stand at Kulusuk Airport
Kulusuk Airport
Kulusuk Airport is an airport in Kulusuk, a settlement on an island of the same name off the shore of the North Atlantic in the Sermersooq municipality in southeastern Greenland.- Airlines and destinations :- Bottlenecks :...

) is uncertain due to budget cuts considered by the Government of Greenland.

District heliports

Passenger check-in
Check-in
Check-in is the process of announcing your arrival at a hotel, airport, sea port or social network service.-Airlines and airports :Check-in desks are found in the majority of commercial airports. Their main function is to take in luggage that passengers wish to, or are required to, place within the...

 for Air Greenland
Air Greenland
Air Greenland A/S is the flag carrier airline of Greenland, jointly owned by the government of Greenland, the SAS Group, and the government of Denmark...

 helicopter flights from the settlement heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...

s is performed by Pilersuisoq employees at the local store, in the Post Greenland counter. The passenger does not receive a boarding pass
Boarding pass
A boarding pass is a document provided by an airline during check-in, giving a passenger permission to board the airplane for a particular flight. As a minimum, it identifies the passenger, the flight number, and the date and scheduled time for departure...

, but the baggage is tagged, unless the passenger does not connect in a local helicopter hub. Baggage is transported in a tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

between the heliport and the Pilersuisoq store.
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