“In Germany, C&A will have around 400 stores in the future, whether exactly 400 or 410 is secondary, as long as they are in the right location,” says Boer. The clothing retailer currently operates 388 stores nationwide.
The aim is also to become more flexible in the procurement of goods. “We want to become less dependent on Asia,” said Boer. The reason for this is the fragility of supply chains. “We have recently experienced how fragile they are several times: during the pandemic, due to the blockade of the Suez Canal and now due to the attacks on the Red Sea,” said the C&A boss. “In order to be able to react more flexibly, we want to source our goods from a wider range of countries in future.” C&A has also reduced its product range by 30 percent.
It was only in November that the new head of Germany, Carsten Horn, said that C&A wanted to open 100 new stores in Europe over the next three years. The company prefers locations close to city centers. At the end of last year, C&A operated 1300 stores in 17 countries. According to previous information, the company has already modernized two thirds of its locations. However, there were also closures: according to the company, 21 stores in Europe closed in 2023.
