In 1984, Goudwisselkantoor took its first steps into the Dutch market as a small family business. This year, with a total of 145 locations, the company celebrates its 40th anniversary. And the peak seems far from reached. On the contrary, further international expansion is high on the agenda. And RetailSonar helps point the way forward.
For 40 years, Goudwisselkantoor has been known in the Netherlands as a specialist in (old) gold. Today, there are also several locations in Belgium and even Germany. At the moment, customers can visit more than 140 branches to buy or sell gold and silver, but also for special vintage jewelry, pawning services, or currency exchange.
And the number of locations keeps growing: “We are fully committed to opening new locations in the coming years. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and possibly other regions. The insights we gain from the RetailSonar platform are very valuable. The combination of our entrepreneurial mindset, technology, and data is the recipe for success,” explains CEO Johan de Ruiter.
“We are now discovering more locations where we can confidently open an additional branch.”
In 2018, Goudwisselkantoor was one of the very first Dutch customers of RetailSonar. “We asked RetailSonar to create territory scans for us. These were very helpful to identify hotspots for a limited number of locations. But as we began to look at our location strategy from a broader perspective, we eventually started using the RetailSonar platform ourselves.”
The platform allows Goudwisselkantoor to sharpen its aim even more, says De Ruiter: “Thanks to the precise traffic measurements, we can compare the visibility and potential return of locations down to the smallest detail. For example, the system showed that a branch in Zulte, a town with 16,000 residents, could perform just as well as our branch in Kortrijk, which has 80,000 residents. We didn’t believe it at first, but the platform was right: we took the leap, and both branches are now equally successful.”
In 2024, Goudwisselkantoor aims for nationwide coverage in Belgium and the Netherlands, and also plans to open two new branches in the German state of North Rhine–Westphalia. The pace is high: this year, a new branch opens every two weeks. “Next year, we want to continue expanding in Germany and explore other regions. There are several options. Will it be France? Luxembourg? Or maybe even Austria? We rely heavily on RetailSonar to help shape our future. To be continued!” concludes De Ruiter.