The Danish discount retailer Normal is planning to invest 400 million kroner in an international expansion next year.
A majority stake in the fast-growing retail chain was recently bought by the Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who is also the CEO and sole owner of the international clothes retail chain Bestseller and has the necessary capital for an expansion abroad.
“With the new ownership structure and new capital, we have the foundation in place,” Torben Mouritsen, the CEO of Normal, told Finans.
Although Mouritsen has not revealed which markets the discount chain will expand into, he confirmed the move will require “a long-term commitment and a lot of capital”.
Povlsen bought into Normal in October 2014 and has continually increased his share.
He now owns about two-thirds of the company, while the rest is divided between the two founders, Torben Mouritsen and Bo Kristensen, and the chairman, Jan Dal Lehrmann.
Normal opened its first store in 2013 in Silkeborg, and since then over 70 other shops have mushroomed across the country.
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Same concept as Tiger
Normal is based on the so-called parallel imports concept, which means the chain buys products from countries with a lower purchasing power index than in Denmark and sells them in stores at prices that are in some cases well below the competition.
Additionally, Normal continuously changes its range of products, so it constantly offers customers new items.
“Normal is based on the same concept as Søstrene Grene and Tiger, which have enjoyed great success abroad,” retail expert Dorte Wimmer told Finans.
“So I can easily imagine that Normal will do well abroad as well.”
