HEMA (store)

HEMA
Native name
 Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam
Founded Amsterdam, Netherlands (1926 (1926))
Area served
 Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Luxembourg
France
United Kingdom
Spain
United Arab Emirates
Services Furnishings
fashion
photo service
foods
and other
Owner Lion Capital LLP
Website www.hema.nl/ Edit this on Wikidata

HEMA (Dutch pronunciation: [ɦeːmaː]; originally an acronym for Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, "Hollandic Standard Prices Company Amsterdam") is originally a Dutch discount retail chain that started life as a dimestore, owned by the British investment firm Lion Capital LLP since 2007. The chain is characterized by relatively low pricing of generic housewares, which are mostly made by and for the chain itself, often with original design.

History

The first HEMA opened in Amsterdam on 4 November 1926, set up by the owners of the luxury department store De Bijenkorf. Originally, as a price-point retailer at prime locations in town centers, goods were sold using standard prices (hence its name), with everything having a standard price of 10, 25 or 50 cents, and later also 75 and 100 cents. The relative economic boom in the Netherlands in the period 1900–1930 benefited HEMA.

During World War II, a number of Jewish employees (there were a relatively high number because of the Jewish roots of the company) were murdered by the Nazis, which is remembered yearly by laying a wreath on 4 May, the Dutch Remembrance of the Dead, at the head office.

After World War II, this model could not be sustained and the standard pricing system was abandoned. But a period of rapid expansion followed: now almost every town of any importance in the Netherlands has a HEMA. Locations carry a wide variety of goods, including clothing, food, bicycle equipment, gardening tools, and office supplies.

In June 2007 Lion Capital bought the chain from Maxeda. In 2010, standard pricing was reintroduced.[1] In 2015, HEMA was for the 8th time in a row the most indispensable brand in the Netherlands. [2] [3]

Branches

Inside a HEMA store

Since the 1990s, HEMA has also expanded into other countries.

HEMA branches by country:

Country Number of stores Since
 Netherlands545 (2018)1926
 Austria 2[4] (2018) 2018
 Belgium98 (2014)1984
 France76 [5] (2018)2009
 Germany17 [6] (2018)2002
 Luxembourg4[7] (2016)2006
 Spain9[8] (2018)2014
 United Arab Emirates1[9] (2018)2018
 United Kingdom9[10] (2018)2014

Since 2009 HEMA has opened small versions of their stores in railway stations, at Schiphol Airport and in small villages in the Netherlands, as well as their first mini market.

HEMA employed in excess of 10,000 workers at over 500 stores by March 2011. HEMA opened its 700th store on 14 December 2015 at Central Station in Utrecht. It is also the tenth store of the retail chain on a Dutch railway station.

HEMA store at London Stansted Airport

On 4 January 2014, HEMA's CEO Ronald van Zetten announced that it would branch out to Spain and the UK opening the first stores within six months as well further expanding in France. The first Spanish store opened on 3 April on Calle Fuencarral in Madrid, and the first British store will be open in the Victoria Place shopping centre, next Victoria station in London on 12 June.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/economie/10330574/hema-mogelijk-in-etalage
  4. ↑ "HEMA Markteintritt in Österreich: Start mit zwei Standorten in Wien". OTS.at. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  5. ↑ "tous les magasins - HEMA". Hema.fr. Retrieved March 2016. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ↑ "HEMA Filialen". Hemashop.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "luxembourg - HEMA". Hema.be. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "tiendas de España". Hemashop.com. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  9. ↑ "HEMA-topman: Abu Dhabi-filiaal opmaat naar meer winkels in Azië". Nu.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  10. ↑ "our stores". Hemashop.com. Retrieved 27 September 20187. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ↑ Susie Mesure. "Hema arrives in Britain: A trip to the shop will soon mean going Dutch". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2014.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.