Action
Action is a Netherlands-headquartered non-food hard-discount retailer operating 2,600+ stores across 15-18 European countries, selling 50,000+ constantly refreshed SKUs across 15+ categories, with 1,500+ products under €1 and a growing private-label portfolio.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Action does
Action is a non-food hard-discount retailer operating 2,600+ stores across approximately 15-18 European countries, headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated as Action Holding B.V. The company sells a deliberately broad and constantly refreshed assortment of more than 50,000 products across 15+ categories — including household, decoration, cosmetics, DIY, toys, stationery, and sporting goods — with 1,500+ items priced below €1 and 150 new SKUs introduced weekly. Distribution is primarily through high-street, accessible physical stores, supplemented by a mobile app and a 700,000+ subscriber newsletter; a full e-commerce transaction surface is not clearly indicated in the available data.
The business model is a single-format discount proposition: high SKU velocity, opportunistic direct sourcing, an estimated ~75% assortment churn, and a growing private-label portfolio (Froyak, Kate Legwear, Mini Matters, Hotel Royal, among others) designed to widen category-level margins within a low-price architecture. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, but the 2,600+ store footprint and 69,040 employees imply a multi-billion-euro revenue base. The company has accumulated multiple national Retailer of the Year awards across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy, and remains privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, acquisitions, or M&A activity in the supplied data.
Action firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Action
- Legal name
- Action Holding B.V.
- Website
- https://action.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Action is a Netherlands-headquartered non-food hard-discount retailer operating 2,600+ stores across 15-18 European countries, selling 50,000+ constantly refreshed SKUs across 15+ categories, with 1,500+ products under €1 and a growing private-label portfolio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Action industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Discount Retail
- NAICS
- All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (459999), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)
- SIC
- Retail-Variety Stores (5331)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Traditional Variety Stores (General Variety & Five-and-Dime) (CRAEAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Multi-Price-Point Convenience Discount (e.g., $1–$10) (CRAEAJAG), Multi-Price-Point Variety Stores (CRAGAJAI)
Keywords
Where Action is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Action business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Retail Product Sales: Action generates revenue through the sale of non-food consumer products across 15+ categories including household goods, toys, fashion, personal care, and home decor. The company maintains a low-price strategy with 1,500+ products priced under €1, and introduces 150 new products weekly to drive customer traffic and repeat visits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard retail pricing - consistently low prices |
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Action product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Action operates a pan-European non-food discount retail chain of more than 2,600 stores across 15+ countries. The company sells a rotating assortment of approximately 50,000+ products across 15 categories (home, kitchen, household, toys, fashion, personal care, DIY, etc.), introducing 150 new products every week and consistently keeping 1,500+ items priced under €1. The assortment combines national-brand goods with Action's own private-label brands (Froyak, Kate Legwear, Mini Matters, Hotel Royal, Alvira, Pure Soft, Superfinn, and others).
Product overview
Action is a pan-European non-food discount retailer operating over 2,600 stores across multiple countries. The company offers a diverse portfolio of approximately 50,000+ products organized into 15 main categories including Home & Decoration, Kitchen, Household Goods, Office & School, Hobby, DIY, Toys & Entertainment, Garden & Outdoor, Travel, Personal Care, Food & Drink, Multimedia, Fashion, Sports, and Pets. The business model centers on consistently low prices with 150 new products introduced weekly and over 1,500 products priced under €1. Action's own private label brands include Froyak (camping/outdoor equipment), Kate Legwear (hosiery), Mini Matters (children's toys with FSC-certified wood and recycled materials), Hotel Royal (bedding), Alvira (personal care), Pure Soft (toiletries), Superfinn (cleaning products), Spectrum (art supplies), Ziki (underwear), Max & More (cosmetics), Zenova (skincare), LSC Smart Connect (electronics), A-Force, Palazzo (coffee), Home Essentials (kitchen appliances), Spargo (cleaning), Hoodadoo (clothing), and Re-load, Eliza Jones, and Kate Legwear. The company also operates digital channels including a mobile application, e-newsletter service with 700,000+ subscribers, and wishlist functionality. Multiple private label brands have won consumer awards and professional jury awards for quality.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Froyak: Camping and outdoor gear brand offering affordable camping equipment including sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses, and camping pillows
- Kate Legwear
- Mini Matters
- Hotel Royal
- Max & More
- Superfinn
- Alvira
- Pure Soft
- Spectrum
- Ziki
- Zenova
- Skyler
- A-Force
- Home Essentials
- LSC Smart Connect
- Palazzo
- Eliza Jones
- Re-load
- Hoodadoo
- Spargo
Products and services
- Action Retail Stores Physical discount retail stores offering non-food everyday products across 15+ categories. Customers shop in-person for household goods, personal care, fashion, toys, DIY, kitchenware, and seasonal items at consistently low prices, with 150 new products introduced weekly and 1,500+ items priced under €1. Available across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Romania.
- Action Mobile Application Official Action mobile application for iOS and Android that lets customers browse the weekly assortment, view promotions, create wishlists/favorites, and find the nearest Action store locations.
- Weekly Deals Program Weekly promotional campaign offering selected products at additional discounts beyond Action's already-low everyday prices. Distributed via in-store brochures, the website, and digital channels to drive foot traffic and repeat visits.
Companies that use Action
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Action technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Action partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Action competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MINISO: Miniso operates a global chain of affordable lifestyle and household variety stores with 6,000+ locations — directly comparable to Action on low-price variety, broad category mix and high-frequency impulse basket.
- Poundland (Pepco Group): Poundland is a UK single-price-point discount variety chain and Peplon's Pepco subsidiary — closely mirrors Action's always-low-price variety proposition, even if single-price-point model differs.
- Pepco Group: Pepco operates Pepper, Dealz and Poundland — pan-European discount variety stores selling low-price household and family goods; closely comparable to Action on geography, format, and weekly-rotating non-food assortment.
- Kik: Kik is a German textile-led discount retailer with 4,000+ stores selling clothing, household goods and toys at low prices — directly comparable to Action on the non-food discount format and European market overlap.
- Woolworth (DACH): Woolworth Germany operates several hundred variety stores across German-speaking Europe offering low-priced non-food assortment — comparable to Action on price-point positioning, store format and category breadth.
- TEDi: TEDi is Germany's largest non-food discount variety retailer with ~2,400 stores across Europe selling low-priced household, hobby and seasonal goods — the closest direct peer to Action on assortment, format and value positioning.
- B&M European Value Retail: B&M is a UK-listed discount variety retailer with 1,100+ stores across the UK, France and Iberia offering low-price general merchandise; direct comparable on store format, value positioning and category breadth.
- Flying Tiger Copenhagen: Flying Tiger is a Danish variety/discount retailer selling affordable, design-led novelty and household goods across 1,000+ stores in Europe and beyond; directly comparable on the treasure-hunt, low-price, variety proposition.
Broad incumbents
- Five Below: Five Below is a US-listed extreme-value retailer of $1-$5 trending variety goods across 1,800+ stores — the closest US analog to Action's everyday-low-price, treasure-hunt variety proposition.
- Aldi (Hofer): Aldi is a hard-discount grocery retailer with a growing non-food discount action assortment that competes for the same value-conscious European shopper; broader portfolio than Action but increasingly overlapping on price-driven non-food categories.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Action social profiles
Digital presenceAction financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Action leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Action funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Action M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Action
What does Action do?
Action operates a pan-European non-food discount retail chain of more than 2,600 stores across 15+ countries. The company sells a rotating assortment of approximately 50,000+ products across 15 categories (home, kitchen, household, toys, fashion, personal care, DIY, etc.), introducing 150 new products every week and consistently keeping 1,500+ items priced under €1. The assortment combines national-brand goods with Action's own private-label brands (Froyak, Kate Legwear, Mini Matters, Hotel Royal, Alvira, Pure Soft, Superfinn, and others).
Is Action a public or private company?
Action is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Action founded?
Action was founded in 1993. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Action based?
Action is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Action make money?
One revenue line is on record: retail Product Sales.
Who are Action's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MINISO, Poundland (Pepco Group), Pepco Group, Kik, Woolworth (DACH), TEDi, B&M European Value Retail and Flying Tiger Copenhagen. Broad incumbents are Five Below and Aldi (Hofer).
Does Action have an API?
No public API is recorded for Action.
What industry is Action in?
Action's product category is Discount Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAEAGAA, Traditional Variety Stores (General Variety & Five-and-Dime), with a secondary code of CRAEAJAG, Multi-Price-Point Convenience Discount (e.g., $1–$10). Its NAICS code is 459999 and its SIC code is 5331.