Action’s customer numbers rise as unrest weighs on growth in France and Germany

Action welcomed more customers in the first nine months of the year, as expansion and higher visitor numbers at existing shops lifted sales. But the Dutch discount retailer says geopolitical unrest and weaker consumer confidence have tempered growth in France and Germany, where it has most of its stores in France.

Action added 228 shops during the period and says it is on track to open 400 this year. It now has 3,530 stores across 16 European countries, averaging 23.2 million customers a week, up from 20.6 million a year earlier.

Chief executive Hajir Hajji said customer growth was strong in the Benelux and southern Europe. France and Germany also grew, but less strongly, which she attributed to geopolitical unrest and lower consumer confidence.

Hajji described the situation in France as highly unsettled, with shops damaged and looted during protests in several cities. Action stores were almost entirely unscathed, she said: one shop had a window broken.

Revenue rose 14 per cent to €12.8 billion in the first nine months. Sales at stores open for at least a year increased by 3.4 per cent. Hajji said the chain’s growing store network also helped it lower prices.