In the European beauty industry, the shift in consumer behavior from in-store to online shopping has accelerated sharply in the last 3 years. This has led to a unprecedented intensification of the digitization process of the industry there is clearly no going back. In line with the evolution of the market, DOUGLAS has gone through a transformation process towards a digital company that includes the physical store business.
This adaptation strategy, which involved optimizing the store network, has enabled a substantial improvement in the results of DOUGLAS in almost all its European subsidiaries. Unfortunately, DOUGLAS Spain has not been able to sufficiently recover or achieve the group’s record financial results. If measures are not carried out, future forecasts show that the financial situation will not change and the continuity of the entire subsidiary will be seriously compromised.
The company wishes to find a future possibility for DOUGLAS Spain, something that necessarily involves recovering its viability. According to financial estimates, the implementation of actions purely aimed at saving costs will not be enough to redirect the situation and a complete adaptation of the commercial network in this market is inevitably necessary. Specifically, of the 199 stores that DOUGLAS currently has in Spain, the company will bet on those with real possibilities of being profitable, along with those considered strategic. The necessary reorganization will affect a maximum of 136 stores in which, unfortunately and after carrying out a study of their financial situation, there is no possibility of improvement.
This adjustment implies carrying out a labor restructuring process that It will affect a maximum of 1,000 employees in total between stores, headquarters and warehouse. The procedure has already been notified to the workers’ representatives and the consultation period is expected to begin in the second week of March. The company approaches this process with the aim of reaching the best solution for all parties, showing the utmost respect for all its employees in Spain. As a consequence of the lower density of stores due to the reorganization, the business automation process and the unification of DOUGLAS Spain in the DOUGLAS South Europe region, it is necessary to readjust the current capacities of central services and warehouse of the company in Spain.
Through this reorganization and the investments made to promote stores with potential, Douglas Spain will have the opportunity to return to being viable like its peer markets, thus opening up possibilities for long-term growth and competitiveness. The Spanish market continues to be important for the group and the future prospects of the subsidiary will be based on an omnichannel model made up of a modern online offer and attractive stores.