Why Coolblue wants to become “a German company”

Coolblue has lofty ambitions in Germany: in five years’ time, the Dutch electronics retailer wants to become “a German company”. Along with geographic expansion, its offerings will expand as well, although CEO Pieter Zwart refuses to become the new Amazon.

Five times larger

By 2029, the majority of Coolblue sales should come from the German market, CEO and co-founder Pieter Zwart announced at the Shopping Today event in Utrecht. In his words, this is how the Dutch electronics webshop wants to become a “German company” within five years, Twinkle reports. During his keynote speech at the RetailDetail Night, he will shed more light on these plans.

Germany is a huge growth market for Coolblue, partly because the German electronics market is five times bigger than the Dutch one. The company is already investing 150 million euros there, with plans to open 36 shops and nine delivery depots in Germany. To support this growth, Pieter Zwart has sold 7.5 % of his shares to investor HAL, giving the investor a majority stake of 56.5 %.

Becoming the Netherlands’ biggest waste processor

Apart from geographically, Coolblue also continues to expand its offerings. The retailer has become a significant player in the white goods sector, with a fifth of total sales coming from this category. However, it also means that the customer journey had to be further optimised, from delivery and installation to returns of waste. “You become more and more of a waste processor”, Zwart says: Coolblue now claims to collect 55 % of all white goods collected in the Netherlands.

Nevertheless, the CEO stresses the importance of boundaries: Coolblue does not want to become an “everything store”, the dream Jeff Bezos cherished for Amazon. Indeed, since the Net Promoter Score is central to the company, every step of the customer journey has to be well thought out and monitored.