Action remains on growth course despite declining consumer confidence

Over the first nine months of the year, Action’s net sales rose by 17.4% to 11.2 billion euros. The non-food discounter is growing thanks to new store openings, but also continues to attract new customers to existing stores: comparable sales rose by 6.3%.

More than 20 million customers per week

Action has already opened 221 additional stores this year, bringing the total to 3,139 stores in 14 countries. Since September 24, the retailer is also present in Romania: the first four stores in the country are performing in line with expectations, says the chain. Action is now on track to open around 380 new stores by 2025, exceeding its original target of 370 stores.

Existing stores also achieved strong customer growth, with particularly strong performance in Italy and Spain. However, comparable sales growth was negatively impacted by declining consumer confidence, especially in France. “So far this year, we have welcomed an average of 20.6 million customers per week to our stores, compared to 20.2 million previously,” says Hajir Hajji, CEO of Action.

10 million downloads for the app

In the third quarter, Action also reached another milestone: the app, which was launched in the Netherlands in 2021 and is now available in all Action countries, was downloaded more than 10 million times. In the app, customers can find information about Action products, weekly promotions and new products, favorites lists, recommendations, and digital receipts.

The retailer also reports the results of its biannual employee satisfaction survey. Action achieved a record response rate of over 90%: employees were able to complete the survey during working hours. Engagement across the company has improved since the previous survey and once again exceeded the relevant benchmarks, according to the discounter.