Danish Retail

Some of the large Danish retail chains have expanded their business to other countries. Many other retailers hope to do the same. Especially retailers within fashion, furniture, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) are internationalising their business.

Retail success in Denmark sparks international ambitions

Finding a unique concept for a retail shop is very difficult. Furthermore it is even more difficult to be successful within the retail business. The process of finding the right product mix, the right place for a shop, adapting to local customers needs, finding and training the right sales personnel can take years.

When the retail concept is in place, the shops sales are rising and the retailer has become successful an expansion of the business is natural. The next step is to open another shop in the same city and afterwards to expand geographically. Finally when the expansion possibilities in Denmark become limited the retail owner seeks to expand the retail business internationally. Therefore retail success in Denmark normally sparks international ambitions.

International strategy

Few Danish retail companies seek to expand their business to other countries from the start. Having an international retail strategy from the start is rare, but in general international oriented companies have a higher possibility of succeeding. Today starting an international retail business has become much easier with the help of the internet.  

Retail chains based on franchising

Franchising is a  common way of expanding a retail business. Danish retail companies also use this method to quickly expand their retail chain nationally as well as internationally. The main advantage of using franchising is that the financing of an expansion is shared between the franchisee and the franchise owner. Both parties are interested in making the retail business successful and they normally work hard to achieve this goal. The drawback for the franchisee as well as the franchise owner is that no party has total control of the retail shop activities and that they have to share the profits.

International web shops

Danish companies are increasingly becoming aware of the major possibilities in using the internet as an sales channel. Retail chain, small and large retail shops, companies and even private persons in Denmark seek to sell things via web shops or specialised trading homepages. Making a web shop available in other languages is a common way of attracting new international visitors and potential customers to a web shop.

Some professional retailers with IT knowledge actually choose to close their normal retail shop and instead create an international web shop attracting more customers and limiting costs. The large retail chains are increasingly seeking to combine the opportunities of a web shop with local retail presence.