Another 108 stores in 2014
“We have managed to realize another strong turnover and profit growth in 2014. In 2013, we surpassed the magical 1 billion euro turnover milestone and we have kept up that pace in 2014, with turnover reaching 1.5 billion euro“, CEO Ronald van der Mark said.
That 30 % turnover growth was largely thanks to major expansions, although the company still managed a 7 % turnover growth in stores that have been open for more than 12 months. “We have added 108 stores to our retail park in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. Thanks to this and our new distribution center in Echt, we have created another 5,000 new jobs”. Action currently has 514 stores in 4 countries.
Netherlands + 15 %, Belgium + 46 %
324 Dutch Action stores (21 more than in 2013) helped grow local turnover 15 % to 1.043 billion euro. Belgian turnover even grew 46 % to 292 million euro, thanks to 25 additional stores (93 in total).
Action wants to keep up the pace this year and has the “ambition to open more stores in 2015 than the company did in 2014. As Action already has plenty of stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, most new stores will open in France and Germany.” Those two countries currently have 52 and 45 stores respectively, worth 90 and 82 million euro.
To facilitate that growth, Action will build a third distribution center, some 50 km from the French capital, Paris. This should become operational in the first half of 2016 and will service “existing and new stores in France”. Action has also announced the arrival of 46-year old Dane Frederik Lotz as its new CFO on 24 August; Lotz was previously CEO at Swedish-Danish dairy corporation Arla for the past five years.
