Søstrene Grene is now unveiling plans for market expansion in Europe. With the goal to reach 500 stores by 2027, the retail chain will now expand its store network to Italy and Poland. At the same time, Group CEO Mikkel Grene reveals that the chain is on course for another record financial year in the group, and is also looking towards new business areas.
Earlier this year, Group CEO and Co-owner Mikkel Grene revealed that the Danish retail chain is looking to new markets to fulfil the ambition of reaching 500 physical stores by 2027. The CEO now discloses that they are aiming to open stores in Italy and Poland as early as 2026:
"Italy is one of the largest retail markets in Europe, and we see great potential here, similar to, for instance, Germany and the United Kingdom, where we are targeting 100 stores in each market. Italy is a country with many large cities and many interesting locations both on streets and in shopping centres. Moreover, Italian customers are very passionate about home décor, and Nordic design in particular, which fits well into our universe and the way we approach product development in Søstrene Grene.
Poland, on the other hand, is an entirely new territory for us. We have not ventured into Eastern Europe before, so it will be an exciting project where we will have to get to know the dynamics. However, it is a large market with huge retail potential, where you also find some of the most beautiful shopping centres in Europe."
Webshops in four additional markets
Mikkel Grene states that the physical stores in Poland and Italy will be accompanied by an online shop in each market, and Søstrene Grene will also launch webshops in both Finland and Spain:
"We have webshops in most of our other markets, and we find that the online business is a good complement to our physical stores. It helps us reach more customers, and we also experience that it increases footfall in our stores. Therefore, we are now also launching a webshop in Finland, where we see a positive trend and opportunities to open more stores in the long term. We have a loyal customer base in Finland, but with an online business and increased marketing, we have the opportunity to further strengthen our brand awareness among the Finnish consumers."
Speaking about the online business in Spain, the CEO admits that launching an online shop without physical stores is something the chain has not tried before. The retail chain previously operated five stores in the Spanish market, but the concept never really took off. Mikkel Grene elaborates that the market now shows great potential again, and with 130,000 loyal Spanish followers on social media, Søstrene Grene is initially focusing on the online segment. He does not rule out the possibility of opening physical stores in Spain again in the future, if the webshop is well received:
"Our concept and product range have changed significantly since we had stores in Spain, partly because we have since developed an entirely new store experience concept, and we have gradually refined the categories with a very high proportion of our own designs," Mikkel Grene explains.
New Record Result Despite Significant Investments
Even though the retail chain is currently undertaking substantial investments - not only in expansion but also in a new distribution centre in the Netherlands, automated solutions, and a large SAP implementation - Søstrene Grene is aiming for yet another record result within the group.
"We have just closed the financial year here on 30 April, and it looks very positive. We do not know the exact figures yet, but I can say that we will achieve another record result both at the top and bottom lines. It is, of course, very satisfying, but also a necessity for us to continue investing in developing our business for the benefit of our many customers across Europe, so we continue to appear both attractive and relevant to future customers," says Mikkel Grene.
Separate Team to Develop New Ventures
In an ever-changing world, one must also dare to invest in new business areas and embark on entirely new adventures, stresses Mikkel Grene, who is now establishing a brand new entrepreneurial team for this task:
"Even though Søstrene Grene has more than 50 years of history, is continuously developing the business, and standing stronger today than ever before, we must also dare to think completely anew. Therefore, we are setting up a new team to capture new ideas, test them, and accelerate them in order to launch entirely new business areas and companies with groundbreaking business models. It will be done in pure entrepreneurial spirit and with a design-thinking approach, where the team will work with customer insights and a data-driven approach, and where AI and other new tools will also play a significant role. In a world where there's intense competition for customers' attention, it is important for us as a company to always manage to renew ourselves. Therefore, I have great expectations for this new venture unit, which I hope will add new and exciting business branches to our group that can stand independently but also draw on some of the capabilities and resources that we have already built within the group."
Mikkel Grene cannot elaborate on which new adventures are being developed in the new development department, but he does reveal that Søstrene Grene is already working on an innovative 'Lillesøster' concept, which will be tested in Zurich over the summer in a high-traffic customer area. This concept is, however, an initiative within the existing Søstrene Grene business model but can open up a large number of attractive, high-frequency store locations in the future.