After just two years, Veritas is already pulling the plug on its Dutch expansion plans. In 2023, the Belgian chain opened the first of what was supposed to be eighty Dutch stores, but now Veritas is retreating back to its home country.
New shareholders
At the end of last year, the chain had attracted a range of new shareholders with the aim of international expansion: in addition to eighty stores in the Netherlands, Veritas also dreamed of expanding to Scandinavia and Germany.
This dream is now giving way to realism: the stores in the Netherlands are already closed, Belgian newspaper De Tijd writes. The expansion of Veritas has therefore not gone beyond the three stores in Breda, Den Bosch, and Maastricht.
Premium wages
According to CEO Corneel De Maeyer, “the Dutch stores did not grow as quickly as expected and it would take years before they reached the profit level of Belgium.” The CEO does not rule out that there may someday be a third attempt to make Veritas shine internationally – until 2019, the chain was also active in France and Germany – but that will not be in the coming years.
At the launch of the first Dutch store in Breda, the chain had stressed that foreign expansion was essential for continued growth, but now it sees more in the premiumisation of its Belgian stores. They are in the process of receiving a more classy make-over, and brands like Ralph Lauren and Lacoste will join the offering. According to the CEO, the refreshed stores saw their sales increase by 15 %, according to De Tijd.
