Danish Jysk chain opens first store in Athens

Danish chain Jysk Group is planning its debut on the Greek market to offer the local market its special brand of articles for the bedroom, bathroom, living room and patios.

The first Greek store opened in Athens last week in Kato Patissia district. “Greece has enormous potential, and I see great opportunities in the country. JYSK’s quality products and great prices are sure to satisfy the needs of Greek shoppers,” says JYSK owner Lars Larsen. Another two stores are planned in the Greek regions of Thessaly and Thessaloniki in October, whereas another store will open at the Greek region of Hellinikon in Athens. The goal is to open 40 outlets in Greece as part of an investment that could amount to as much as 20 mln euros, protothema.gr reports.

“JYSK opens two new stores each week around the world, but it’s not every day that we open up in a new country. I’m really looking forward to meeting all the employees and, hopefully, a whole lot of customers” said Larsen.

According to the Danish Embassy in Athens: “The past eight months’ lack of economic activity in Greece has not deterred JYSK from opening the first out of four scheduled stores in Greece. The opening comes in the wake of the third bailout deal to Greece and the election on the 20th September which hopefully marks the beginning of a more stable and positive economic period.

The opening is a clear expression of trust and the matchless timing has earned great acknowledgement and attention in Greece. Many national TV-channels were present during the opening of JYSK and their focus was on the national need for foreign direct investment to bring down the staggering unemployment rate and ameliorate the public finances. JYSK opening provides a powerful narrative because of its choice to go against the tide and invest in Greece despite of the seemingly harsh economic situation with capital controls and low consumer confidence.

Judging by the big influx of costumers on the opening day the timing seemed to be spot on. JYSK’s investment may inspire other companies to invest in Greece now where Greece economic environment hopefully stabilises in the months to come.”

The origins of the JYSK Group lie in Scandinavia. The first store opened in Denmark in 1979, and today the JYSK Group has over 2.275 stores and 19,000 employees in 38 countries. In Germany and Austria, the company goes by the name ‘Dänisches Bettenlager,’ and it is known simply as ‘JYSK’ in the rest of the world. The aim of the JYSK Group is to give everyone a great offer and to open stores around the globe. Lars Larsen, the owner and founder of the JYSK Group, is also the owner of the furniture retail chains Bolia.com, IDEmøbler and ILVA – as well as a number of other companies. The total turnover of the LARS LARSEN GROUP is 3.1 billion euros.