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Clas Ohlson to push on with expansion plans
Swedish homewares giant Clas Ohlson is poised for the next stage of its expansion into the UK market, following a successful trial in Croydon, south London.
By Graham Parker, property editor
Since opening its trial store in Croydon last summer the Scandinavian homewares retailer is convinced enough to press on with its UK expansion plans. It now intents to open another store before the end of the financial year and then two to four stores next year.Founded 90 years ago in Sweden, Clas Ohlson now has 107 stores in Sweden, Norway and Finland generating sales of SEK4.7bn (£390m) per annum and net profits of SEK588m (£49m). It is famous for its diverse offer from tools and homewares to multimedia and electronics. It could be described as a cross between Robert Dyas and Maplins.
And since new chief executive Klas Balkow took over the reins in Autumn 2007 the pace of expansion has quickened, with a target of 15 per cent annual growth over the next five years. To achieve this, its expansion in the UK is very much on the agenda.
Jones Lang LaSalle has been retained to find stores, and is targeting the UK's top 50 towns. The Croydon store trades from roughly 20,000 sq ft accessed off the upper level of the Whitgift Centre with another entrance via a 1,000-sq ft ground floor unit on the prime North End pitch. A 15-year lease was agreed with landlord Howard Holdings at £700,000 per annum.
JLL Associate Director Leo Duggan says the requirement was for units of 15,000 to 30,000 sq ft in prime locations. Although Clas Ohlson can trade from secondary locations in its home markets, because it is very much a destination store, Duggan says the UK rollout would focus on prominent locations in prime pitches as part of the drive to establish the brand in the mind of the UK consumer.
Tagged as: Clas Ohlson
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