Søstrene Grene is expanding into Poland and Italy, two new markets for the Danish retailer. Earlier this spring, the company launched webshops in the markets and is rounding off the spring with the opening of its first store in the Polish market.
At the end of March, Søstrene Grene celebrated the opening of its 400th store across markets. Now, the retail chain is expanding into new markets. On 29 May, the first Søstrene Grene store in Poland will open in Warsaw, while the first store in Italy is set to open in Bolzano this summer. Shortly after, the retailer is planning to open in Milan, the design capital of Italy.
“We are delighted to share that we will open our first Søstrene Grene store in Poland on 29 May. The store will be in Westfield Arkadia in Warsaw, one of the country’s largest shopping centres. This is a milestone we have been looking forward to for a long time, as it marks our first step into Eastern Europe. During the summer, we will also open our first store in Italy, in Bolzano, and shortly after, we’ll also open in Milan. Two openings, that we are looking very much forward to," says Mikkel Grene, CEO and Co-owner of Søstrene Grene, and continues:
“We know there is a strong interest in Scandinavian design among Italian customers, and we have long wanted to expand into Italy. Customers in both Poland and Italy have already warmly welcomed our recently launched online universe, and we hope they will also welcome our sensory store experience."
Ambition to reach 500 stores across markets
With the two new markets, the retail chain will have physical stores in 19 European countries and webshops in 18 countries.
The market expansion is part of Søstrene Grene’s ambitious growth strategy on European markets. On 26 March, the retail chain opened its 400th store across markets. 26 March, the retailer marked the opening of its 400th store, and the ambition is to reach 500 stores over the next few years, with the chain also aiming to reach 100 stores in the United Kingdom alone.
“We have built a strong presence in some of Europe’s largest markets such as the UK, where we have more than 70 stores, and Germany, which was the first market to reach 100 Søstrene Grene stores. That gives us confidence that we can continue our expansion journey in new markets such as Poland and Italy, and in our existing markets in general,” says Mikkel Grene.
Expansion of own stores
When Søstrene Grene first opened new stores beyond the store in Søndergade in Aarhus in 1989, it was with franchisees. But as part of the chain’s retail strategy, most Søstrene Grene stores are now run as own stores, 100% owned by the chain’s holding company.
This will also apply in the Polish and Italian markets, where Søstrene Grene will own and operate all future stores.
“We are grateful for our valuable and long-standing collaborations with franchisees in several markets, but over the years we have strengthened our retail set-up at headquarters, which enables us to get even closer to our larger markets. In general, there are operational and strategic advantages for us in running the stores ourselves, and we are now reaching the size and experience to centralise these tasks,” says Mikkel Grene, and continues:
“Regardless of the ownership, we continuously work to ensure the same wonderful universe and sensory store concept across markets. Naturally, we are also looking forward to bringing that to Poland and Italy.”
Søstrene Grene has named the store concept ‘Retail for the Senses’, and it can be found in all new stores. As the name suggests, this concept is centred on a sensory in-store experience. The ambition is to activate customers’ senses through the scent of wood, the classical music, the lighting and the dark walls, which are intended to invite customers to explore the store.
About Søstrene Grene
Søstrene Grene is a Danish retail chain which since 1973 has worked to bring beauty and joy to everyday lives through ever-changing aesthetic design made to create moments of ‘hygge’.
The brand offers a wide assortment within home interiors, furniture, hobby items, kitchen supplies, children’s toys, specialty food and candy, gift-wrapping, party supplies and more.
The family-owned company is now managed by the second generation after the founders from the headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark. The chain operates more than 400 stores across Europe. Søstrene Grene’s holding company owns the majority of the chain’s stores, while the remaining stores are operated on a joint venture and franchise basis.
As part of its efforts to reduce its climate footprint, Søstrene Grene has committed to a number of ambitious climate targets towards 2034, all of which have been validated by the recognised climate standard Science Based Targets initiative.
Read more about Søstrene Grene on https://sostrenegrene.com/ or on the press site here: https://press.sostrenegrene.com/