A major beauty retailer is pulling back on its physical expansion after years of growing its store network. Weaker sales and fierce price competition are forcing the company to reconsider how many locations it needs. The shift comes as online shopping continues to reshape the beauty retail market and consumers remain highly sensitive to prices.
The retailer has already closed dozens of stores this fiscal year, and management says it will continue scrutinizing locations based on profitability and customer traffic. Founded in 1821, Douglas Group is a German-based international beauty retailer that operates about 1,970 stores across Europe, as well as several e-commerce platforms, spanning multiple brands, including Douglas, Nocibé, Parfumdreams, and Niche Beauty. Douglas Group closed 31 stores in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, significantly more than the 12 locations it shuttered during the same period a year earlier.
The company has been moderating the pace of its store expansion while shifting more investment toward e-commerce and technology. It is also evaluating its existing store network based on profitability and customer traffic. Douglas has not announced a specific number of additional stores that will close.
However, CEO Sander van der Laan said the company will continue reviewing locations as it adjusts its physical footprint to changing customer behavior. "We are making adjustments to align our business even more closely with the development at both customer and market level, with an increased focus on e-com and a stricter assessment of the profitability of our store network, and that will lead to a number of conclusions and decisions," said van der Laan during the company's latest earnings call. The company said it will continue opening stores selectively, particularly in Eastern Europe, while modernizing locations in Western Europe.
But it expects the balance between physical stores and e-commerce to shift further as customers increasingly shop online. Douglas' store strategy comes after a period of significant expansion as the beauty retailer faces a more challenging environment in some of its largest markets. Germany, France, and the Netherlands account for about 60% of Douglas' business, but the company said consumer demand for premium beauty was lower year over year in Germany and the Netherlands and flat in France during the latest quarter.
Meanwhile, Central Eastern Europe continued to perform more strongly. Price competition is also weighing on the business. Douglas said consumers remain highly price-sensitive, particularly in its mature markets, while competition has become increasingly aggressive.
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