Page 23 - #201 September 2025

Interview

Stockholm, Sweden
Creating a solutions as they see this as key in supporting their

teams and processes in creating a more agile and
Wonderful World scalable business.
As well as expanding their horizons in the digi-
tal department, they continue to invest heavily on
their sustainability agenda. This has incorporated
the phasing out of several single-use plastic items
and will also phase out offerings in the future that
do not fit their strategy to secure more circularity
in their product range.
“In addition, we recently announced a
Born in Aarhus, As part of this total, they will likely reach 100 45,000sq m distribution centre in the Nether-
D e nm ark ’ s stores in Germany alone this year. They have lands which will help meet our ambitions for the
second largest also announced plans to enter Italy and Poland, sustainability agenda. It will reduce the distance
city, Søstrene along with opening up online shopping in Spain to our customers and stores in southern and cen-
Grene is a retail and Finland. tral Europe. Moreover, the centre will be built as a
chain founded When we probe on the topic of a positive guest state-of-the-art project for sustainable construc-
by parents Inger experience inside and outside of their stores, tion with its own solar panel systems and robotic
Grene and Knud humble is the first thing that comes to Grene’s technology that will wrap our online packages
Cresten Vaupell mind. “We are very humble about the fact that using as little packaging material as possible,”
Olsen in 1973 when they opened a store that many customers very much like our brand, our Grene comments. that caters to their senses and offers them products each other. “But we of course would not be able
turned out to be one of a kind. In this inter- stores and our products. It is a great privilege Focusing on much more than just selling prod - that do not cost more than they need to. When a to exist without our product range focusing on Berlin, Germany
view, we speak with Mikkel Grene, Group CEO but it also comes with a great responsibility to ucts at affordable prices, Søstrene Grene aspires guest enters one of the stores, they are entering an Nordic design tradition and most importantly our
& Co-Owner of Søstrene Grene as we discuss continue to meet our customers’ expectations to offer their customers a shopping immersive experience with their winding maze, the millions of loyal customers across Europe.”
the brand’s ongoing expansion, its digital and have them visit our stores repeatedly. It is experience dark colours on the walls and the classical music. Asking Grene about the future and the chal -
transformation and sustainability agenda. not something we would ever take for granted.” ence that sets the brand apart as well as making lenges ahead, he explains that despite ongoing
Grene believes it is this concept and experi-
He adds to this by saying they aim to stay curi-
economic headwinds, they continue to see strong
O WNED TODAY BY Mikkel and his ous. They are curious about the markets they sure that the online and offline- footfall and engagement across their stores.
experience mirror
The brand believes in the long-term relevance of
operate in, about how to optimise the spaces that
brother Cresten, the Creative Direc -
tor, Søstrene Grene is perhaps best
inspiration and emotional connection.
described as a lifestyle brand that offers prod- they have and about digital transformation. Most physical retail - especially when it offers discovery,
importantly, they are curious about their custom-
ucts in a variety of categories such as home décor, ers and how they can offer them the best possible “I believe that the retailers who will be most
-
small furniture, kitchen, hobby, celebrations, sta- experience online and offline. successful in the future are the ones that will suc
tionery, children’s toys, accessories and more. The company did not begin life in the online ceed in adapting to the current situation and the
They work consciously to continually create realm until 2020, but once they did, it allowed consumers’ needs, but at the same time will not
wonderful worlds unlike anything ever seen them to accelerate their digital transformation be afraid to invest and renew themselves even in
before. To do this, they focus on their concept, the and the omni-channel offering as they look to uncertain times,” Grene explains.
retail experience they offer and their products. meet their customers where they are, creating “This why we work so much on creating this
Each of these three dimensions needs to reflect the best possible synergy across their channels unique store experience and special Søstrene
their values and together they make up the unique and physical stores. Grene world that we want to offer our customers.
world of the brand. In terms of AI and its influence in the I believe this is key in securing the most important
They also work very hard at making retail market, the company is thing - our customers visiting our stores again
sure that no matter where in the world focusing on integrating AI and again.”
people visit a store; they will feel they
are taking a little break from the
often-hectic everyday life.
Today the company operates Copenhagen, Denmark
more than 340 stores across 17 London, UK
European markets. These include their
home country Denmark and England,
Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic
of Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Paris, France
Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway,
Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
“Back in March, we opened our second central
London store on Argyll St. The store is spread
across 441sq m, has two floors, is one of our flag-
ship European sites and has an Experience Room,
as well as being the only site in the UK to have a
Sensory Room,” highlights Mikkel Grene, Group
CEO & Co-Owner of Søstrene Grene.
Whilst London is of course a very important
city, Grene sees huge potential across the UK
where they are always warmly welcomed. They
have also recently opened in Harrogate and back
in July they opened stores in Wimbledon and at
Canary Wharf.
Discussing the wider expansion plan, they
are targeting 100 stores in total in the UK and Aarhus, Denmark
500 stores across Europe by the end of 2027.

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