Action is writing one of the most spectacular growth stories of any foreign distributor in France. The discount chain opened its first French store in 2012, and only seven years later it already reached the milestone of five hundred stores.
Main market
Yesterday, the 500th French Action was officially opened in Nice. “France is our first market today, ahead of the Netherlands! And we intend to continue our long-term development in the country“, Action France’s general manager Wouter de Backer told French business website Linéaires.
To enable this growth rate, the company regularly builds new distribution centres in France – a fourth one will open next year near Angers, to tend to the west of the country. The chain has already opened warehouses in Moissy-Cramayel (2016), Labastide-Saint-Pierre near Montauban (2017), and Belleville (2019).
Action is controlled by British investment fund 3i and has more than 1500 stores in seven countries in Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland. Total turnover increased from 873 million euros in 2012 to 4.2 billion euros last year. The value of the discount chain is estimated at more than ten billion euros.
