Rebranding Austria: “Nothing better could have happened”

It is now one and a half year since all stores in Austria changed name from DÄNISCHES BETTENLAGER to JYSK. GOJYSK.com visited Austria to hear how the change has turned out from the store colleagues’ perspective.

After 20 and a half year with DÄNISCHES BETTENLAGER in Austria and a brand knowledge around 96 percent among the Austrian population, it was decided to rebrand all stores to JYSK with effect from 1 October 2020.

Now, one and a half year has passed, and the new name, assortment and work procedures have settled in, and the overall impression from Austrian store colleagues is clear.

“Nothing better could have happened,” says Bianca Ringhofer, Store Manager in JYSK Fürstenfeld, Austria.

Great support for ONE JYSK

GOJYSK.com visited two stores in Austria in late March 2022 just after the results from the Employee Satisfaction Survey was published. In Austria, the point “JYSK Values” scored 85 out of 100, and “ONE JYSK” scored 87 out of 100. Here, Austrian colleagues agreed on statements like “My team supports the merger of JYSK and DBL” and “I identify with the JYSK Values”.

The name change itself was of course exciting and with a lot of changes, but in general, the name change was positively received.

“At the time for the change, we of course thought “How will it be?”, but the timing seemed right, and the rebranding was completed very quickly. And I think that we have seen the results from the beginning. Now we are attracting way more younger customers,” says Bianca.

More time for customers

The workday has also been optimised. The introduction of MYJYSK, Click & Collect, smartphones and electronic shelf labels has saved a lot of time on tasks and led to more time for customers.

“I really appreciate it. It is now also much easier for customers to get an overview in the store, and they find a lot of products themselves. But we also have much more time to help them,” says Melanie Kral, Deputy Store Manager in JYSK Gänserndorf, Austria.

And the rebranding has also led to only positive reactions from customers. They are especially experiencing an update in the categories homeware and bath as well as much more furniture on display in the stores.

“The customers are very excited when they enter the store for the first time. We hear a lot that the products are better and look better. The more modern assortment also gets a lot of praise,” says Melanie.