Jysk sets out to conquer medium-sized French towns
Since 2020, Jysk has intensified its development in France by opening 30 additional stores, bringing the total to 72 points of sale. This acceleration is the result of direct takeover by the parent company in Denmark, which replaced the previous German management, as Capital explains. “ We have a stronger mesh than our competitor », welcomed Luc Weiland, responsible for the expansion of Jysk in France, with BFMTV. The furniture brand, positioned in the same segment as the Swedish giant Ikea, aims to expand into cities with 10,000 inhabitants, which represents a potential market of 15 million French people according to figures from Geoconfluence from 2017. Jysk is thus focusing its expansion in less served areas, in order to become the only one, or at least the reference furniture brand in a pool of 45,000 inhabitants, which is already the case for its points of sale located in the north of the country, explains Luc Weiland.
It is also on this positioning that its entire strategy is based. Smaller than those of Ikea, Jysk’s stores have a much smaller surface area than that of its direct competitor: approximately 1,250 m², as specified Capitalcompared to 15,000 or even 20,000 m² for Ikea. Thanks to this approach, Jysk France has seen its turnover double since 2020, reaching 68 million euros. Given its performance, the brand is now thinking big. Jysk France aims to open 500 new stores in the country. “ It will take as long as it takes », nevertheless wishes to clarify Luc Weiland.
35 to 40% of sales in garden furniture
Founded in 1979 by Lars Larsen, the Jysk furniture brand began in bedding. Over time, the brand has expanded its range of products and now offers: household linen, furniture, small decoration, as well as garden furniture, which alone represents 35 to 40% of its turnover in season. This high proportion of sales coming from garden furniture explains why Jysk relies on a dense network in medium-sized cities to develop its activities in France. By targeting these areas, Jysk is responding to strong local demand for quality gardening products, while avoiding direct competition with Ikea, already widely present in large cities.
And unlike Ikea, the Danish brand offers brands other than its own in its stores, in particular: Simmons, Dodo and Dunlopillo. This allows it to offer a diversification of the offer to consumers who, due to a lack of buying second-hand furniture or being able to turn to other brands, often find themselves with the same furniture as that of their neighbors.
