Action opens its 500th store in France

Today, Mr Cédric Roussel, Member of the third constituency of Alpes-Maritimes, Mr Franck Martin, Municipal Councillor Delegate for Trade and Markets of Nice and Mr Wouter De Backer, General Manager of Action in France, inaugurated the 500th Action store in France in Nice at the Nice Valley shopping centre. The opening of this 500th store is in line with the company’s development strategy and reinforces its ambitions in France, which is Action’s largest market.

Since the opening of its first French store in 2012 in Courrières (Pas de Calais), Action confirms its success in France. Action is growing steadily and is opening new stores at a strong pace every year. 2019 confirms this trend with the inauguration of its 500th store in Nice in the heart of the Nice Valley shopping centre. It is a significant investment in France which is the leading market for the brand.

“France is our largest market ahead of the Netherlands. And we intend to continue our long-term development in the country,” explains Wouter de Backer, Managing Director of Action France. “Our presence in Nice now ensures that we can cover the entire country and meet the needs of our customers wherever they are! This success confirms our ambitions and demonstrates the success of our unique concept: a wide, constantly renewed and accessible range of products at the lowest price. ”

To support its rapid development and ensure the supply of all its stores several times a week, Action has built up a solid logistics network in France. In addition to the opening of this 500th store, 2019 was also marked by the inauguration last March of its 3rd distribution centre in Belleville near Lyon, in addition to the distribution centres in Moissy-Cramayel (Ile de France) and Labastide-Saint-Pierre (Toulouse).

In addition, the company is proud to actively contribute to the economic dynamism of the country since it now has more than 10,000 employees in France.

A shopping experience that is increasingly appealing to the french

Acclaimed by consumers, the brand is now the 3rd most popular brand in France and is proud to count many fan communities on social networks.

This growing interest is explained by a unique model based on low prices, a variety of everyday products – 6,000 items in 14 product categories – and a weekly addition of 150 new products in all points of sale. Among the products offered, 2000 are sold at less than 1€.

“We want to guarantee our customers a pleasant shopping experience and want them to be sure that our products are reliable. Despite the low prices of our products, we make no concessions in terms of quality, safety, social and environmental responsibility. Quality management and a responsible approach to production are essential to us” concludes Wouter de Backer.

An international success

While France remains a strategic market, the brand founded in the Netherlands in 1993 is pursuing its development in Europe. In 2012, Action had a total of 321 stores (in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France), today it counts more than 1500 stores in 7 countries where the brand is established (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Austria and France) among which 230 opened in 2018.

In 7 years, its turnover has progressed from €873 million in 2012 to €4.2 billion in 2018. Action employs over 50,000 people and now operates eight distribution centres in Europe and will open two more before the end of 2020. More than 8 million customers visit our stores every week.

In France, new stores should be opened by the end of the year and a fourth distribution centre is planned in Verrières-en-Anjou near Angers by 2020.