JYSK is accelerating its expansion across Europe with plans to open up to 100 new stores in major cities over the next three years.

The Danish furniture and homewares retailer is shifting more of its focus towards central urban locations, including European capitals and other large cities, as part of its latest three-year growth strategy.

Up to 30 of the new stores are expected to open before the end of JYSK’s current financial year in August, while the remaining 70 are planned for the following two years.

The retailer has already opened city-centre stores in Dublin and Amsterdam this spring, with further sites planned in both cities. It is also preparing to launch new shops in Stockholm, Oslo, Madrid and Barcelona later this year.

JYSK president and chief executive Rami Jensen said the business still sees further opportunity to grow across Europe, despite already operating more than 3,600 stores.

“With more than 3,600 stores primarily across Europe, JYSK is already widely established and known for our great offers in many places,” he said.

“But there is still room for more JYSK stores when we look at the map of Europe, and we want to get even closer to the many customers who live in European capitals and other key cities.”

The move marks a new direction for the retailer, which has historically built much of its estate in small and medium-sized towns, as well as on the outskirts of larger cities.

JYSK said the upcoming urban stores will be slightly smaller than its standard format, with around 800 sq m of sales space compared with its usual average of around 950 sq m.

The retailer said the strategy would allow it to deepen its presence in countries where it already has a foothold and existing market knowledge.

Jensen added: “In a country like Denmark, where our founder Lars Larsen opened his first JYSK store 47 years ago, we are well established and widely recognised by customers.

“And in many other countries across Europe, we still see significant potential. That is why we are putting more effort into opening new stores in countries where we are already present and have local knowledge of the market.”

JYSK was founded in Aarhus in 1979 and now operates stores and online shops across 50 countries.

In the UK, the retailer has around 25 stores, mainly across the north of England and the Midlands.

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