Peek & Cloppenburg to continue expanding in Austria
Family-owned German clothing chain Peek & Cloppenburg (P&C) said today (Weds) it would continue expanding in Austria.The firm recently opened a 5,000 square metre store at the Tyrol shopping centre in Innsbruck and today opened a 6,700 square metre store at Shopping City Süd (SCS) in Vienna-Vösendorf. P&C is planning to open one at Viennas Donaucenter in October.An official of P&C, based in Dusseldorf, Germany, said the opening of its 12,000 square metre flagship store on Viennas Kärntner Straße had been rescheduled for early 2011 and would result in the creation of 200 to 300 jobs.Henning Riecken, country manager for Austria and Switzerland, said: “We want to be present in all major cities and shopping centres over the middle term.”The chain has 10 stores in Austria that employ 1,500 people. The firm has a policy of not disclosing its turnover and profit, but Riecken said: “We have solid turnover and are continuing to grow.”He added that recession had not had much impact on P&C except for a slight decline in sales of the most expensive items.Consulting firm RegioPlan says P&C was the third largest clothing dealer in Austria in 2009 after H&M and C&A. P&C recently acquired Vögele and KiK.P&C, which has been present in Austria for 10 years, has a presence in 14 European countries and will soon expand into Bulgaria.