Brugsen is the Danish contraction of Brugsforeningen, meaning "coöperative". There are two separate supermarket chains known as Brugsen, one defunct in Denmark and another still active in Greenland.

"Brugsen" (meaning "coöp") was the original, nondescript brand name of FDB's retail outlets in Denmark. After opening a series of branded stores starting in 1961 and deciding to focus on its retail operations in the 1980s, FDB began shuttering factories and spun off its larger Brugsen stores as SuperBrugsen in 1991 and its smaller ones as Dagli'Brugsen the next year. In 1995, the smallest convenience stores were organized as LokalBrugsen.

After a failed attempt to merge their operations with Norway's NKL and Sweden's KF as Coop Norden in 2002, FDB regained sole ownership of the group's Danish operations, Coop Danmark A/S, in 2008. Coop Denmark continues to operate the SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen, and LokalBrugsen chains as separate divisions of its operations.

Brugsen or Brugseni is also the common name for the Greenlandic supermarket chain KNB (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaanni Brugseni AmbA), which was founded in 1991 as a union of separate coöperatives dating back to 1963. The earlier coöperatives, but not the present company, were organized under the FDB aegis. It is one of the island's three major retailers along with Dagrofa's Pisiffik and the state-owned Pilersuisoq and claims 30,000 members, more than half of the Greenland population. It operates thirteen stores in seven major towns: Nuuk, Sisimiut, Qaqortoq, Maniitsoq, Paamiut, Narsaq, and Nanortalik.