Electronics mail order company Coolblue is planning stores in Germany and is relying on bicycle couriers
The Dutch electronics chain Coolblue opens its first German branch in Düsseldorf. So far, the company has mainly relied on the dispatch of goods using its own logistics including a bicycle delivery service.
Coolblue, the Dutch market leader with a focus on consumer electronics, has now announced that it will open its first store in Germany. The company, which made headlines above all with its own next-day delivery service and a bicycle delivery service, plans to launch in the fourth quarter in Kö-Bogen II to open a branch in Düsseldorf. Customers will be able to purchase over 1,000 electronic products in the 2,600 square meter branch.
With the opening of its first German stationary shop, Coolblue is continuing the previous development of its own infrastructure in Germany with its own delivery and assembly service Coolblue Liefert and its own bicycle delivery service Coolblue Radelt.
Indeed, it is no longer easy to gain a foothold as an online consumer electronics retailer in the well-stocked German market. The Swiss competitor Galaxus has been fighting for market share for three years and is positioning itself with targeted advice and curation in addition to expanding its range, while AO only managed to achieve a corresponding market share with larger investments.
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Coolblue delivers goods with its own bicycle couriers
Coolblue shouldn’t be able to do it any other way. The company from the Netherlands, which generated two billion euros in sales last year, launched Coolblue Delivery, its own delivery and assembly service for large household appliances and televisions, on the Lower Rhine in Germany in summer 2020. Coolblue’s own bicycle delivery service, Coolblue Radelt, was later introduced in Germany, making Coolblue the first online retailer in Germany to deliver orders by bicycle itself – albeit not nationwide, of course. Nevertheless: Since the beginning of 2021, customers nationwide have been able to order electronic products from Coolblue.de and have them delivered the next day free of charge (but then by parcel delivery service).
Now Coolblue has apparently recognized that some product groups will not work, or at least not so well, without stationary stores. Pieter Zwart, CEO of Coolblue, explains: “When customers need a new television, they want to test it first. When you are looking for a new pair of headphones, you want to try them out first and see what they look like when you wear them. ”However, the branch opening in Düsseldorf’s top location is just the beginning. 40 employees is looking for the company for the store.
