The Dutch-German fashion chain C&A wants to expand its branch network in Germany. Giny Boer, the Dutch head of C&A Europe, announced in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” that she wanted to open new stores again after a phase of closures. “In Germany, C&A will have around 400 branches in the future, whether exactly 400 or 410 is secondary, as long as they are in the right location,” she said. The textile retailer currently operates 388 branches nationwide.
The goal 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 vulnerability of the supply chains. “We have seen how fragile they are more often recently: in the pandemic, because of the blockage of the Suez Canal and now because of 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 larger selection of countries in the future.” In addition, C&A has reduced its 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 branches in Europe in the next three years. The company particularly prefers locations close to the city center. At the end of last year, C&A operated 1,300 branches in 17 countries. According to previous information, the company has already modernized two thirds of its locations. But there were also closures: according to the company, 21 branches in Europe closed in 2023. (dpa)