Annual Report 2009/10 Excellence in Retailing - Douglas Holding

74 Divisions
Douglas · Perfumeries
Did you know ...
that, on the average, more than
70,000 Internet users open the douglas.de
homepage every day? At peak times
like the pre-Christmas period, up to
150,000 Douglas fans visit our online
shop in a single day.
Developments in the company’s
key domestic market of Germany proved especially
positive. Although the number of perfumeries
declined overall by seven to 445, turnover was up by
2.9 percent to approximately EUR 947 million, enabling
Douglas to successfully cement its market leadership.
Douglas Germany also profited from the numerous promotions
surrounding the centenary of its first-ever perfumery
on Hamburg’s Neuer Wall in 1910 (see also pages
82 and 83). The standout among the seven new venues
was the redesigned Douglas perfumery on Tauentzienstrasse
in the German capital: Berlin’s new beauty hot-
Futuristic and colorful: the cosmetics section at Douglas in Berlin.
spot opened its doors in September 2010. Its customers
will experience a flagship store worthy of any worldclass
city, with almost 10,000 square feet of sales area
spanning two floors and sporting a dramatically new
shop design. The ground level’s “World of Color” hosts
brands like “MAC,” “O.P.I.” and “Benefit” and the American
label “Kiehl’s since 1851” – which boasts a large
counter for the first time ever in a Douglas perfumery.
Care and fragrance products predominate upstairs,
where customers will also find Germany’s first and only
“Clinique Treatment Center,” a space that exists in this
form to date only in New York and Copenhagen. Interactive
services such as touchscreen terminals for skin analyses
and styling tips round out the high-appeal offerings
of Berlin’s new “beauty.”
Events outside Germany varied considerably from
region to region. Douglas was confronted by daunting
challenges resulting from the global economic downturn
and – at the very start of the crisis in 2008 – initiated a
consolidation program focusing on countries where it is
already the market leader or can secure this status within
the foreseeable future. As a consequence, Douglas
discontinued operations in Denmark and the United
States during 2010, and also closed a number of unprofitable
locations, particularly in Spain and the Baltic
States.