Discounter Action speeds up international growth

Dutch discount chain Action will speed up its international growth pace, with more store openings planned than the 141 it had last year. 

100th German store

More than ever, Action has targeted international growth, the company said when it opened its 100th German store (in Lampertheim, located in Hessen) on Thursday. So far this year, it opened 30 stores of the intended 60. “Our 100th German store proves our formula works, but it is also just the start for Action in Germany”, Action Deutschland’s general manager, Steffen Rosenbauer, said.

In the long run, the chain aims to span the entire German territory, which is why it is currently building its own distribution center, specifically for the German market, in Biblis. The center should open its doors in spring and should help Action move forward from its 165 million euro German turnover in 2015, which was already twice as much as what it had achieved in this market in 2014.

Almost 200 stores in France

Aside from Germany, France is another important market for the group: it will soon open its 200th French store in Grenoble. In order to support its French expansion, it opened a first distribution center in Moissy-Cramayel earlier this year and it started construction on a second distribution center near Toulouse.

It opened its 100th store in Belgium last year, but it already has 129 stores so far in the country. “We opened 13 stores this year and we have more store openings planned for Belgium”, a spokesperson confirmed, refusing to commit a number. 1,882 people (1,251 FTE’s) work for the chain in Belgium.

Action is currently active in 6 countries (its home territory, the Netherlands, the previously mentioned countries and Luxembourg and Austria) with 780 stores. It also has more than 29,000 employees and managed a 2 billion euro turnover in 2015.