Store chain Hema has major plans for Germany: in the next three years, it will open at least seventy new stores, which is a huge increase compared to the eleven it currently has in the country. Hema also targets shop-in-shops and stores in train stations.
Not a lot of competition
Beatrice Schnell, the German head of Hema, divulged the plans in an interview with Lebensmittel Zeitung. It will even start that expansion later this year: it will open a store in Stuttgart and has plans for stores in Berlin and Dortmund.
Germany is a highly interesting market for Hema, because there are no similar chains around. The first store, in Cologne, is even outperforming expectations.
Hema is not only working on its foreign presence in Germany: the chain has expanded in France, Spain and the United Kingdom as well. Its success abroad has even led to the introduction of its international formula in Belgium and the Netherlands. It has also helped the chain to get back on its feet after it had to deal with a huge turnover drop, mainly in the Benelux.
