3i Group

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Everyone likes to buy bargains. In the stock market, but definitely also in our daily lives. Today, we’re delving into British investment company 3i, which specializes in private equity and infrastructure. How does this rhyme with the first sentence of this introduction? Well, that’s because discount chain Action is 3i’s biggest holding by far. The company accounts for almost 90% of 3i’s private equity GIR (Gross Investment Return). 

Logically, we will mainly focus on Action in this analysis. From the moment 3i bought out Action, the company has grown net sales with a CAGR of 26%. It is a bummer that this company isn’t fully Dutch anymore, but the headquarters of Action is still located in The Netherlands. With more than 400 stores located in the Netherlands, accounting for almost 20% of revenues, this situation allows me to do some market research in real life. 

Included in this analysis are my experiences in some Action shops and how the prices compare to supermarkets, drugstores and online retailers in the Netherlands. Is Action really the cheapest option? And what allows this company to open one store a day in Europe? Let’s find out!

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