Mountain Warehouse plans to aggressively expand in eastern Europe as it eyes 50 stores in Poland following its launch in the country late last year.
The outdoors retailer said it was confident of growth prospects after the positive reaction to its Warsaw and Sosnowiec stores.
Mountain Warehouse chief executive Mark Neale said: “Poland is similar to Britain in terms of weather and population. They’re very outdoorsy there. We could have up to 50 stores there.”
Neale said the success of small Polish outdoors chains convinced him there is a market for Mountain Warehouse. He said its 2,500 sq ft stores, which are bigger than its Polish competitors, would set it apart.
Poland will offer the retailer expansion opportunities when it reaches saturation in the UK, according to Neale.
The 140-store retailer, which has opened 25 shops per annum for the past few years, aims to have 250 stores to deliver UK-wide coverage.
Private equity backer LDC, which owns a 22.5% stake in the business, is facilitating the expansion.
Mountain Warehouse is one of a raft of fast-growing outdoors specialists on the expansion trail including Go Outdoors, backed by private equity firm 3i, which is expected to grow from 40 to 70 stores in the next three years.
Mountain Warehouse is expecting to open slightly fewer stores in the UK this year in light of the tough consumer outlook.
However, Neale foresees some respite following rival Blacks Leisure’s acquisition by JD Sports, which he hopes will relieve price pressures. He said Blacks and Millets’ large markdowns in the past few months had a detrimental effect on rival retailers.
He said: “With Blacks on stable footing, we hope there will be less market disruption. We relish sustainable competition, with less severe reductions.”
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