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Dutch chain Dille & Kamille now has the resources to open five new shops a year, but only sees limited expansion potential in the Benelux. The focus is therefore shifting even more to Germany, CEO Hans Geels says.
Bigger potential
Dille & Kamille currently has 51 shops: just over half (28) in the Netherlands, fifteen in Belgium and eight in Germany. Together, they generate 100 million euros in turnover annually. Over the past eleven years, the retailer has opened thirty new stores, an average of almost three per year. Now, however, the retailer wants to speed up: “We now have the resources for five new shops a year“, Geels told Belgian newspaper De Tijd.
However, the CEO mainly looks to Germany to exploit those growing resources, as he thinks expansion opportunities in the Benelux are rather limited. In Belgium, Geels does not see more potential than 25 shops at the very most. This year, the retailer will still open a store in Knokke, while Ostend is also on the wish list. In the Netherlands, there are still “a few spots” at most, so the chain’s focus shifts to the east: “The money we have will be deployed mainly in Germany. The country has three times the population of Benelux, so the potential there is also three times bigger – in theory.”
Unique ideology
The CEO finds that his chain’s specific concept is well received in Germany: he says that Dille & Kamille’s strength lies in the experiential world the retailer has created. “You can buy a ladle anywhere, but our thought process and atmosphere are unique”, says Geels. “Nobody else can be Dille & Kamille.”
The retailer continues to push back against consumerism: there are no promotions, shops remain closed on Black Friday and the focus is on sustainable products. These choices are not obvious in a market where low-price formats like Action and Primark are the big winners, the CEO admits: “I understand that those brands come into the picture when budgets are ever more stretched, but I do not know if this is the direction we should go in. This does not make me happy.”
In a podcast series to mark his chain’s 50th anniversary last year, Hans Geels talked to retail professionals, including RetailDetail founder Jorg Snoeck. You can listen to that episode (in Dutch) here.
