Coolblue expands to Germany

Coolblue, founded in 1999 in the Netherlands, announced it has sold its first product to a customer in Germany. This was the official start of the expansion of Coolblue to Germany. The Dutch omnichannel retailer has set the first steps to expand. In the Düsseldorf area, the retailer starts with its own delivery network, installation service, bike couriers and physical stores. The next step is further expansion across Germany.

German website

Customers in the Düsseldorf area can use the German Coolblue website and app to order white goods, such as, washing machines, refrigerators and freezers. Furthermore, the orders will be delivered on the next day by Coolblue personnel from the warehouse in Tilburg, the Netherlands. In addition, Coolblue also revealed that after white goods, the e-commerce company will probably sell and install TVs next. Coolblue also explained that German customer can communicate with the retailer in their own native language.

Pieter Zwart, CEO at Coolblue, said the following: “Our step across the German border is a milestone for all 5000 employees. Recently, we have worked very hard to expand our infrastructure to Germany. That means not only hiring and training German-speaking employees, but also, for example, setting up customer-oriented product trips and designing our blue box, bag, bus and bicycle.”

Successful in the Netherlands and Belgium

Coolbue is very successful in the Netherlands and Belgium. The omnichannel retailer launched its online store in Belgium in 2007. However, success in Germany might be harder to achieve for the retailer. Currently, the German market is dominated by strong competitors, such as, MediaMarkt, Amazon, Staturn, Notebooksbiliger, Alternate and Cyberport.

Expanding the infrastructure

During this year, Coolblue continues to expand its own infrastructure by adding more services and product groups to the German-language website and app, rolling out its own bicycle network and opening a physical store in the Düsseldorf area.