the essential
A new discount bazaar brand is setting up in France. His name: Wibra. Coming from the Netherlands, she has just opened a first French store in a highly competitive sector, dominated by Action and Gifi.
To make purchases at low prices, a few years ago, customers had the choice between Gifi, La Foir'Fouille or Casa. A multitude of brands, often from abroad, have invested in this niche of mass distribution: the Dutch Action and Hema, the French Centrakor, Stokomani and Bazarland, the Danish Normal, the British B & M (formerly Babou) or the Spanish PrimaPrix. A new brand is entering the French market: Wibra.
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Action stores: low prices, origin of customers… the insolent success of the French favorite brand
Wibra has just opened a first 500 m² store in the city center of Lambersart, in the suburbs of Lille. Throughout the shelves, the customer will find decoration and hygiene products, household items, toys, stationery, for the home or garden. But above all textiles which occupies around a third of the sales area, which sets Wibra apart from its competitors. No food products are present on the shelves.
“For shoppers on a budget and bargain hunters”
“Our concept offers various assortments which aim to meet the daily needs of our customers. The quality-price ratio is very correct and accessible to all budgets. We are there both for customers on a limited budget and for good hunters business”, explains Claudine Nachtergaele, country manager of Wibra France. With a stated strategy: set up near supermarkets.
It was its success in the Netherlands and Belgium that made Wibra decide to attack the French market. The objectives of the Dutch brand in France are not known. Wibra has 300 stores in Holland and Belgium. Created in 1956, the brand takes its name from the surname of its founder Johannes Wierdsma and the maiden name of his wife, Braam.
The same success as Action?
For the managers of Wibra, the arrival in France comes four years after filing for bankruptcy in Belgium in the fall of 2020. The discount brand had suffered from the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Business has since picked up. Will Wibra experience the same success in France as its major competitor Action, also from the Netherlands, which has opened more than 800 stores in 10 years? If the store in the suburbs of Lille has attracted more than 2,000 customers per day since its opening, we will have to see if consumers remain loyal to it, once the trend has passed.
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