Consumers are prioritising savings and thinking twice before spending. Our customers rely on us for the products they need at prices they can afford. Action increasingly occupies a central place in their daily lives.
Dear reader,
If there is one lesson from 2025, it is that this year once again proved why Action’s commitment to offering good-quality products at the lowest price matters more than ever.
The world around us is changing rapidly. Geopolitical tensions and shifting alliances are reshaping global stability. Many governments face increasing budget pressures. Technology continues to add another level of disruption, with artificial intelligence now taking centre stage. Meanwhile, rising costs and economic uncertainty make it harder for many families to make ends meet.
As a result, consumers are prioritising savings and thinking twice before spending. Our customers rely on us for the products they need at prices they can afford. Action increasingly occupies a central place in their daily lives.
A year of many highlights
In 2025, we continued to capture the growing enthusiasm for our Action formula. Our customers love Action for the lowest-priced, good-quality products they require. We again welcomed a record number of customers: 21.6 million customers on average every week, up from 18.7 million in 2024. This not only reflects their trust and loyalty, but also the dedication of our teams who service our customers.
One of our goals is to bring Action to as many customers as possible. For the first time in our history, we opened stores in two new markets in one single year. The reception of Action in Switzerland and Romania was promising. We closed the year with eight stores in Switzerland and six in Romania already.
Throughout 2025 we set out to add at least one new store per day on average. We exceeded this target by ending 2025 with a record of adding 384 stores, taking our total number of stores to 3,302 across 14 countries. To facilitate our store growth, we expanded our distribution network by opening three new distribution centres (DCs). We now operate 18 DCs in total.
A special highlight was the opening of our 3,000th store which we celebrated in Italy this summer with our customers, all Action colleagues who take care of our customers every single day, and our suppliers who are often engaged with Action for many years.
Mourning a tragic incident
As a retailer, we operate at the heart of society. Unfortunately but inevitably, we also experience its dark side on a more or less regular basis.
The darkest moment in our history however occurred in the early morning of 20 February 2025, when we lost two colleagues, Iveta Steklíková (38) and Eliška Kmoníčková (19). They were tragically killed in a random stabbing in our store in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, by a 16-year-old individual. This terrible and unprecedented incident shocked us deeply. On 27 February, everyone at Action observed a minute of silence in respectful memory of Iveta and Eliška.
We launched several support initiatives for the families and colleagues involved, including donations, commemorations and professional mental support. We consider the safety and security of our colleagues and our customers the most important thing. Tragedies like these have an incredible impact on everyone involved and we will do everything we can to prevent this from happening again.
Reflection on our performance
Also in 2025, Action continued to grow rapidly. We registered net sales growth of 16% and operating EBITDA growth of 14%.
Our like-for-like sales growth was 4.9%. Whereas our relatively new markets Italy, Spain and Portugal deliver double-digit growth, more mature markets (Germany, Belgium) show a slower growth but generally performed according to expectations. The exception is France, where growth has fallen flat after summer.
Our belief in the Action formula and culture remains unchanged. As we keep attracting more customers, we are convinced that we are on the right track.
Progress with the Action Sustainability Programme
During the year, we have made considerable progress with the Action Sustainability Programme which is built around four pillars.
Planet & Product
Action is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our entire value chain. In 2025, Action's near-term science-based GHG emissions targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This confirms that these climate goals align with the Paris Agreement objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
People
Our Action culture and our people, together with the Action formula, truly distinguish us. Every day, our colleagues support our customers and we consider their engagement essential. We measure this through our biennial survey, the Voice of Action.
The 2025 results show that we are on the right track. The response rate was higher than ever, and across the company, engagement reached new heights exceeding retail benchmarks. Our colleagues are proud to work for Action for clear reasons, and we listen carefully to make use of their feedback.
Partnership
Action wants to contribute to the communities where we operate. We focus on children, as they are the future and we believe children deserve a safe and healthy start in life. In 2025, we continued our collaboration with SOS Children's Villages. For every store, we sponsor children to help them grow up in a safe environment. Last year, we supported more than 17,000 children. Together with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, we opened safe sports courts in several neighbourhoods where our stores are located to get children moving and exercising. This included opening our first court in Paris.
We have also recently partnered with Princess Máxima Center Foundation to support their mission to cure every child with cancer, and have extended our partnership with Fairtrade as the first international retailer to commit to a living-income wage for the cocoa farmers involved with our chocolate range.
Looking ahead to 2026
We will continue to invest in our formula, ensuring more and more customers can afford good-quality products at the lowest price. In addition to continuous investments in better product quality and low prices, we are growing and strengthening our store network through new openings, refurbishments, enlargements and relocations. At the same, time we are reinforcing our supply chain with new distribution centres.
We are equally committed to investing in the backbone of our organisation through technology, with ongoing improvements to our planning, finance, time-registration and transport systems. Of course, we will also continue to invest in our people through training and development opportunities. Our colleagues are the heart of Action, and we consider that their engagement and development remain essential to our success.
Our expansion across Europe will result in more store openings than in 2025 and two new market entries: Croatia and Slovenia.
New horizons in 2027
As part of our regular new markets research, we have conducted an in-depth market study of the United States and see a lot of promise for a formula like ours in non-food retail. Based on this favourable conclusion, we have decided to commence preparations for opening a first Action store in the United States at the end of 2027 or early 2028, provided the market context will not change.
As we are launching from scratch on a new continent, we will take the time needed to build up successful operations: one store at a time, patiently learning what works and adjusting when necessary.
On behalf of the Board, I extend my gratitude to our customers for their loyalty, our colleagues for always putting our customers first, our partners for their collaboration, and to our shareholders for their trust and support. Together, we are developing Action into a stronger, more resilient non-food discounter that our customers can build on.
It is exciting to be a part of Action, and I thank you for joining our journey.
Sincerely,
Hajir Hajji,
CEO Action
Consumers are prioritising savings and thinking twice before spending. Our customers rely on us for the products they need at prices they can afford. Action increasingly occupies a central place in their daily lives.
Dear reader,
If there is one lesson from 2025, it is that this year once again proved why Action’s commitment to offering good-quality products at the lowest price matters more than ever.
The world around us is changing rapidly. Geopolitical tensions and shifting alliances are reshaping global stability. Many governments face increasing budget pressures. Technology continues to add another level of disruption, with artificial intelligence now taking centre stage. Meanwhile, rising costs and economic uncertainty make it harder for many families to make ends meet.
As a result, consumers are prioritising savings and thinking twice before spending. Our customers rely on us for the products they need at prices they can afford. Action increasingly occupies a central place in their daily lives.
A year of many highlights
In 2025, we continued to capture the growing enthusiasm for our Action formula. Our customers love Action for the lowest-priced, good-quality products they require. We again welcomed a record number of customers: 21.6 million customers on average every week, up from 18.7 million in 2024. This not only reflects their trust and loyalty, but also the dedication of our teams who service our customers.
One of our goals is to bring Action to as many customers as possible. For the first time in our history, we opened stores in two new markets in one single year. The reception of Action in Switzerland and Romania was promising. We closed the year with eight stores in Switzerland and six in Romania already.
Throughout 2025 we set out to add at least one new store per day on average. We exceeded this target by ending 2025 with a record of adding 384 stores, taking our total number of stores to 3,302 across 14 countries. To facilitate our store growth, we expanded our distribution network by opening three new distribution centres (DCs). We now operate 18 DCs in total.
A special highlight was the opening of our 3,000th store which we celebrated in Italy this summer with our customers, all Action colleagues who take care of our customers every single day, and our suppliers who are often engaged with Action for many years.
Mourning a tragic incident
As a retailer, we operate at the heart of society. Unfortunately but inevitably, we also experience its dark side on a more or less regular basis.
The darkest moment in our history however occurred in the early morning of 20 February 2025, when we lost two colleagues, Iveta Steklíková (38) and Eliška Kmoníčková (19). They were tragically killed in a random stabbing in our store in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, by a 16-year-old individual. This terrible and unprecedented incident shocked us deeply. On 27 February, everyone at Action observed a minute of silence in respectful memory of Iveta and Eliška.
We launched several support initiatives for the families and colleagues involved, including donations, commemorations and professional mental support. We consider the safety and security of our colleagues and our customers the most important thing. Tragedies like these have an incredible impact on everyone involved and we will do everything we can to prevent this from happening again.
Reflection on our performance
Also in 2025, Action continued to grow rapidly. We registered net sales growth of 16% and operating EBITDA growth of 14%.
Our like-for-like sales growth was 4.9%. Whereas our relatively new markets Italy, Spain and Portugal deliver double-digit growth, more mature markets (Germany, Belgium) show a slower growth but generally performed according to expectations. The exception is France, where growth has fallen flat after summer.
Our belief in the Action formula and culture remains unchanged. As we keep attracting more customers, we are convinced that we are on the right track.
Progress with the Action Sustainability Programme
During the year, we have made considerable progress with the Action Sustainability Programme which is built around four pillars.
Planet & Product
Action is committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our entire value chain. In 2025, Action's near-term science-based GHG emissions targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This confirms that these climate goals align with the Paris Agreement objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
People
Our Action culture and our people, together with the Action formula, truly distinguish us. Every day, our colleagues support our customers and we consider their engagement essential. We measure this through our biennial survey, the Voice of Action.
The 2025 results show that we are on the right track. The response rate was higher than ever, and across the company, engagement reached new heights exceeding retail benchmarks. Our colleagues are proud to work for Action for clear reasons, and we listen carefully to make use of their feedback.
Partnership
Action wants to contribute to the communities where we operate. We focus on children, as they are the future and we believe children deserve a safe and healthy start in life. In 2025, we continued our collaboration with SOS Children's Villages. For every store, we sponsor children to help them grow up in a safe environment. Last year, we supported more than 17,000 children. Together with the Johan Cruyff Foundation, we opened safe sports courts in several neighbourhoods where our stores are located to get children moving and exercising. This included opening our first court in Paris.
We have also recently partnered with Princess Máxima Center Foundation to support their mission to cure every child with cancer, and have extended our partnership with Fairtrade as the first international retailer to commit to a living-income wage for the cocoa farmers involved with our chocolate range.
Looking ahead to 2026
We will continue to invest in our formula, ensuring more and more customers can afford good-quality products at the lowest price. In addition to continuous investments in better product quality and low prices, we are growing and strengthening our store network through new openings, refurbishments, enlargements and relocations. At the same, time we are reinforcing our supply chain with new distribution centres.
We are equally committed to investing in the backbone of our organisation through technology, with ongoing improvements to our planning, finance, time-registration and transport systems. Of course, we will also continue to invest in our people through training and development opportunities. Our colleagues are the heart of Action, and we consider that their engagement and development remain essential to our success.
Our expansion across Europe will result in more store openings than in 2025 and two new market entries: Croatia and Slovenia.
New horizons in 2027
As part of our regular new markets research, we have conducted an in-depth market study of the United States and see a lot of promise for a formula like ours in non-food retail. Based on this favourable conclusion, we have decided to commence preparations for opening a first Action store in the United States at the end of 2027 or early 2028, provided the market context will not change.
As we are launching from scratch on a new continent, we will take the time needed to build up successful operations: one store at a time, patiently learning what works and adjusting when necessary.
On behalf of the Board, I extend my gratitude to our customers for their loyalty, our colleagues for always putting our customers first, our partners for their collaboration, and to our shareholders for their trust and support. Together, we are developing Action into a stronger, more resilient non-food discounter that our customers can build on.
It is exciting to be a part of Action, and I thank you for joining our journey.
Sincerely,
Hajir Hajji,
CEO Action