*Photo: Google Street View screen capture.*

Affordably priced Danish home furnishings retailer JYSK plans to substantially expand its Canadian operations. The company will open four more stores this year and in 2017, JYSK plans to open seven or more Canadian locations.

JYSK was founded in Aarhaus, Denmark in April of 1979, and is now the largest Danish retailer operating internationally. The company operates over 2,300 store locations in over 40 countries. It sells household goods such as mattresses, furniture, and interior decor, and also features seasonal furniture offerings.

According to Director of Advertising Lynne Williams, JYSK will open four more stores this year — a location opened in Trois Rivieres, Quebec last week, and stores will soon open in Edmonton, Oshawa ON, and at Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga. JYSK will continue with expansion plans into 2017 with stores in Ontario (Hamilton, Brampton and possibly Cambridge), in Laval and Sherbrooke Quebec, as well as on Vancouver Island and in the Maritimes. The retailer is looking to particularly increase its brand awareness in the province of Quebec, where it currently operates eight locations, she said.

JYSK’s Canadian stores are typically in the 22,000 square foot range and according to Ms. Williams, its new stores will be larger — typically in the 26,000 square foot to 30,000 square foot range, in order to accommodate an expanded furniture selection. Larger stores will also be able to house and display outdoor furniture inside stores, as opposed to outdoor displays that may be challenging for some retail locations.

JYSK is celebrating 20 years of operating in Canada this month, including a new advertising campaign. The retailer’s first Canadian location opened in Coquitlam, British Columbia in 1996, and its Canadian headquarters remains in the Lower Mainland. Ms. Williams explained that the west coast connection allows the company to be within proximity to its buying office in China.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: September 28, 2016