Stores open 364 days a year? Douglas boss advocates the Dutch model

Douglas boss Sander van der Laan is annoyed by the restrictive store opening hours in Germany. "I really don't understand it: our customers are active every day, Amazon is open 24 hours a day - and in Germany the shops are mostly closed on Sundays," criticized the manager of the perfumery chain in front of the Düsseldorf Business Journalists Association (WPV).

That is not good for brick-and-mortar retail. "We are always at a disadvantage compared to e-commerce." He would like to see more freedom for retailers and in particular the option of permanent Sunday opening, also to create simultaneous competition. Of course, not all employees agree with that. "But we have to be customer-focused."

Van der Laan comes from the Netherlands. Supermarkets there are open 364 days a year, says the 56-year-old. The same applies to drugstores. And Douglas also sells every Sunday in some of its 100 branches in the neighboring country. It is not difficult to motivate employees: "They get 50 to 100 percent extra pay for this. That is a good incentive."

The company has not yet calculated how much revenue Douglas is losing in Germany due to the Sunday closures. However, Van der Laar believes that the share is comparatively high: "We have a market share of 45 percent in Germany. So of everything that online retailers sell on Sundays in the premium beauty sector, 45 percent would actually belong to us."

Douglas is also strong in e-commerce. The company, founded in 1821, now generates 30 percent of its turnover through online sales. However, most online orders are preceded by visits to stores, explains van der Laan. "If you want to buy something new, such as a Chanel fragrance for 150 euros, you first go to a store to try out the product and smell it." The stores are therefore vital for Douglas' survival.

The fact that in many places, especially in Germany, the picture in city centers is currently dominated by a loss of footfall, vacancies and retailers going bankrupt does not bother van der Laan. However, a withdrawal is not an issue. On the contrary: Douglas is even planning to expand its branch network. "We still believe in the city center," says van der Laan.

The CEO, who has been in office for just over two years, has already announced 200 new openings within three years. Some of these will be in Germany, where there are currently 335 stores across the country. "We still have some blank spots here," explains van der Laan.

However, the vast majority of branch growth is planned abroad, above all in Eastern Europe. Van der Laan mentions Poland first and foremost, but also Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Slovenia and the Czech Republic. A lot of money is also to be invested in modernization. In Germany alone, Douglas is planning to renovate and renovate 150 branches.

The company is not necessarily optimally equipped for this. High debts are weighing on the balance sheet. And the IPO in March last year , the proceeds of which were primarily intended to be used to pay off liabilities, was more of a flop. From the beginning, the share was below the issue price of 26 euros, and is currently even significantly below that at just 16 euros.

"Of course we are not happy about the development of the share price," says van der Laan. However, the balance sheet figures have recently been comparatively good. In the Christmas quarter, the first of Douglas's 2024/2025 financial year, which started in October, sales increased by 6.5 percent. "That's not so bad, especially given the current situation in Europe." Luxury has been doing well for a long time, but currently all companies in the beauty sector are feeling the effects of the consumer crisis.

According to van der Laan, Germany stands out in particular. "The consumer climate is really very negative in Germany , there is a substantially depressed mood. Consumers are very pessimistic."

He is now hoping for a positive effect from the federal election . After Sunday's vote, the political situation is clearer. "I hope that the mood will develop a little more positively in the next few months." Van der Laan is counting on a government being formed quickly. "We need security - both consumers and companies."

The aim for the coming years is group-wide growth of three to five percent in the stationary business and seven to nine percent in online retail. The profits generated in this way are to be used to further reduce debt. "A dividend will only be paid when debt is no more than twice EBITDA." Most recently, however, this figure was still at 2.3.

Carsten Dierig is a business editor in Düsseldorf. He reports on trade and consumer goods, mechanical engineering and the steel industry, among other things.