Scandi retail giant would consider opening Mullingar store
One of Scandanavia's leading retailers has said that it would consider opening a store in Mullingar if the right property became available.
Danish home retail brand JYSK, which has already opened four stores in Ireland this year, has called on landlords in Westmeath and the rest of the country to get in touch about available retail properties to help it meet its ambitious plan to open 40 outlets over the next five years.
When contacted by the Westmeath Examiner about whether it has any plans to open a store in Mullingar, a spokesperson for the retailer said that if they were to find the right property they would "definitely consider it”.
Earlier this year, JYSK announced that it intended to open 15 Irish stores over the next two years. It has now revised its plans to new 40 stores within the next five. The firm says that these stores have a forecasted turnover of €70 million and would create hundreds of new jobs.
The brand will host a meet and greet with potential landlords in the Red Cow Moran Hotel in Dublin on Monday, September 16. Landlords from Westmeath and across the country are invited to come along, meet with the JYSK team and present their available properties on the day.
In a statement issued last week, the firm said that Irish customers have “embraced” the firm since its first store opened in Naas in April.
In its opening month, the Naas store performed second best out of 1,200 stores across the JYSK Nordic division of the JYSK Group. With four new stores due to open in the next five months in Sligo, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, JYSK Ireland wants to reach and exceed the initial, 15 store openings in two years, business plan it set when it arrived in Ireland.
However, Poul Erik Larsen, Expansion Director at JYSK, has highlighted a number of issues that could hinder the company’s growth here, saying:
“It has been very difficult, time consuming, and expensive to open new stores in Ireland. We have noted that in other parts of Europe we can issue and sign a lease contract within 2-4 weeks, whereas in Ireland, this is taking up to 16 weeks in some cases. To achieve the volume of stores we want in the Irish market within 2-3 years, we need to secure a steady flow of new locations and that is something we’re actively pursuing right now.”
Adding to this, Roni Tuominen, Head of Retail at JYSK Ireland, said: “The appetite for JYSK’s offering is there amongst Irish consumers, and we have seen this in our revision of forecasted figures for 2019, which have been increased by almost 50%. Unlike some other large retail brands, we want new JYSK locations in towns and cities all over Ireland, so we can contribute to the local economy, especially in smaller communities where our job creation will be extremely valuable.”
Founded in Denmark in 1979 by Lars Larsen, JYSK’s Scandinavian design ethic and stylish approach to interiors has made the brand known and loved across the world. Over the past four decades, JYSK has expanded to 52 countries, with more than 2,800 stores worldwide employing 23,000 people.
Do you have a property or location that would be suitable for a JYSK store? Register to attend the “meet the landlord” day in the Red Cow Moran Hotel in Dublin on Monday, September 16, from 9am, by contacting Jenny Johnston at jjoh@jysk.com.