Investment in store concept attracts more customers

JYSK's three-year roll-out plan for modernising its stores has now been completed. In total, it has cost DKK 4.7 billion. The result is more inviting stores, and customers have welcomed this.

Light floors in a wood look instead of blue carpets and inspiring room settings have made their entrance. New lighting, new fixtures and subdued colours have replaced an older interior design, to name just a few important elements of JYSK's latest store design, which has now reached the whole world.

In 2016, a prototype of a new JYSK store concept was tested in Horsens, Denmark. This was the start of the so-called Store Concept 3.0 in JYSK, which in 2021 had shown such great results that it was decided to speed up the roll-out. JYSK set a goal of having all JYSK stores with the right size and location converted within the next three years.

Now, three years later, the rollout has been a great success. The schedule with the rebuilding of several thousand stores was kept, despite global challenges with longer delivery times for inventory and price increases for raw materials after COVID-19.

"Our new concept has improved the shopping experience enormously, and together with the development of our range, we believe that we have taken a huge step forward when it comes to brand and quality perception. This is also reflected in more younger customers and better customer feedback," says Carsten Nørgreen Weinkouff, Executive Vice President Retail Development, Customer Service and B2B.

A huge project

Over the course of the three years, more than 2,000 store activities have been carried out. This means that on average, more than one store has been rebuilt per day, which has been an investment of DKK 4.7 billion.

"In order to continue to be attractive to our customers, we need to invest in our stores, and considering our constant revenue growth and solid earnings results over the past financial years, I dare say that the investment is worth the money," says Carsten Nørgreen Weinkouff.

At all locations where it has been possible, the conversion of stores has now been completed. Only a few older stores are still standing, where a rebuilding has not been possible due to an existing lease.

"We must always consider whether it is a good business case or not to remodel a store. Almost all our stores are rented, and here we have to wait until the end of the contract if the current location is not the ideal one for a redevelopment, just as it does not make sense to rebuild a store that is going to close," explains Carsten Nørgreen Weinkouff.

Store Concept 4.0?

The question now is when Store Concept 4.0 will be ready for takeoff, but according to Carsten Nørgreen Weinkouff, future changes will be made based on the current store concept.

"It is not likely that we will implement such a major concept change again right away. We are now on a very good foundation for the future, and it will instead be concrete adaptations to different areas of the stores, where we can add something extra to the store experience," he says.

Facts: Store Concept 3.0

• The new concept was first introduced in 2018 and was met with positive response from both customers and employees right from the start.
• Light wood-look floors, new lighting, new fixtures and muted colours have replaced carpeted floors and older fixtures, to name just a few key elements of the new store design.
• Every detail of the store is designed and built to present the product range in the best possible way.