The Dutch-German fashion chain C&A is looking to expand its branch network in Germany and expand from its current 388 stores to over 400.
The goal is also to become more flexible in the procurement of goods. “We want to become less dependent on Asia,” said Giny Boer, Dutch Head of C&A Europe. The reason for this is the vulnerability of the supply chains. “We have seen how fragile they are more often recently: in the pandemic, because of the blockage of the Suez Canal and now because of the attacks on the Red Sea,” said the C&A boss. “In order to be able to react more flexibly, we want to source our goods from a larger selection of countries in the future.” In addition, C&A has reduced its range by 30 per cent.
It was only in November that the new head of Germany, Carsten Horn, said that C&A wanted to open 100 new branches in Europe in the next three years. The company particularly prefers locations close to the city centre. At the end of last year, C&A operated 1,300 branches in 17 countries. According to previous information, the company has already modernized two thirds of its locations. But there were also closures: according to the company, 21 branches in Europe closed in 2023.
