Søstrene Grene sets its sights on massive German expansion

Chief executive contends there could be room for 200 stores in neighbour – almost double its number worldwide

Aug 18, 2016

Budget homeware retailer Søstrene Grene, where most of the items on sale are for less than 30 kroner, has reported a successful opening of its first store in Germany.

Over 100,000 customers have visited its store in Hamburg since its June opening, and most have made purchases, chief executive Mikkel Grene told finans.dk.

German expansion
“It has been one of the very best openings in our company’s history,” he said. “This bodes very well for the German market.”

Grene anticipates there could be room for 200 stores alone in Germany – almost double the number the company already has worldwide – and reveals that “a handful of stores” could open there before Christmas.

Danish invasion
Søstrene Grene, which was founded in Aarhus in 1973, has 118 stores worldwide in ten countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, the UK, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Japan.

Thanks to Søstrene Grene and the likes of Tiger, Joe & The Juice and Jysk, there have never been as many overseas Danish retail outlets as there are now, according to Retail Institute Scandinavia.

In 2015, close to 600 opened, taking the total number over 10,000.

TOP STORIES

“Talents, start using AI tools now,” says Siri and Change.org founder

In an exclusive interview with The Copenhagen Post, the founder of Siri and Change.org, and currently VP of AI Experience at Airbnb, gives young talents advice on how to deal with the job market changed by artificial intelligence.
Testing free school meals for 20,000 kids and tax deduction for homeowners in 2025 Finance Act

The government has reached an agreement on next year’s Finance Act with SF and Radikale Venstre. A test on free school meals for a limited number of children will be introduced. Homeowners will get more options for deductions for home improvements
Make your voice heard as an expat

In my last op-ed, I made the case that we, expats living in Denmark, need to step up if we want to tackle the headaches that seem baked into expat life—e.g., counterintuitive laws and endless paperwork. With almost 16% of Denmark’s population made up of internationals, we actually have the numbers to influence real change. But after publishing the last op-ed, several readers contacted me and asked: Okay, but what can we actually do?
Danish politicians will double life science exports in a few years

“Strategy for life science” is a policy agreement to support the pharmaceutical industry’s opportunities to double exports to DKK 350 billion towards 2030
Royal House unveils new portraits of King Frederik and Queen Mary

Ten months after Frederik went from crown prince to king, new civil portraits of the new royal couple have been taken.
“Without internationals, we wouldn’t have the people we need,” says Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s Hillerød facility thrives with a diverse workforce, employing over 1,800 people from more than 65 nationalities. Morten Munk, Director of Global Alliance Management, highlights how the company’s rapid growth relies on attracting international talent due to Denmark’s limited pool of scientific professionals.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

5 Dec: A guided tour of Christiansborg

Career

“Talents, start using AI tools now,” says Siri and Change.org founder

In an exclusive interview with The Copenhagen Post, the founder of Siri and Change.org, and currently VP of AI Experience at Airbnb, gives young talents advice on how to deal with the job market changed by artificial intelligence.
“Without internationals, we wouldn’t have the people we need,” says Fujifilm

Fujifilm’s Hillerød facility thrives with a diverse workforce, employing over 1,800 people from more than 65 nationalities. Morten Munk, Director of Global Alliance Management, highlights how the company’s rapid growth relies on attracting international talent due to Denmark’s limited pool of scientific professionals.
“Now the biggest challenge is to retain internationals”, says Ferring

Mads Hougaard, senior HR director at the pharmaceutical company, explains that “it is also a challenge for society itself. I think collaboration between institutions, companies, and stakeholders could be beneficial.”

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Jobs