Bathroom specialist X2O expands to Germany

X2O, a ambitious Belgian bathroom chain with 45 stores in the Benelux, will open its first showroom in Germany next Saturday. The retailer sees opportunities for its ‘buy it yourself’ concept in its new territory.

High purchasing power

X2O’s first German branch opens in Mülheim an der Ruhr in the prosperous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the region with the highest purchasing power in the country. A showroom with a perfect location, the retailer claims: it opens in a shopping area near the motorway, where big names such as Takko Fashion, Tchibo, MediaMarkt, Metro, Aldi and Lidl are also active.

The retailer sees opportunities for its ‘buy it yourself’ concept, which does not yet exist in Germany. The novelty is that the end customer keeps the commission. X20 announces the launch with a guerrilla marketing campaign: bathtubs will appear in the city centre containing the brand’s well-known yellow rubber ducks and the message “Mehr Bad als du denkst” (More bath than you think).

X2O is part of Beliving, the retail holding of the discreet Belgian entrepreneur Jan Ollevier, which also includes furniture chain Juntoo and garden furniture specialist Exterioo. In October last year, it became known that this group would have called in the merchant bank JP Morgan to look for an investor or buyer. Ollevier currently owns 68.45% of the shares, investment fund Vendis 26.6%.