Open

Open N.V.

Type	Naamloze vennootschap
Traded as	SHEB: OPN
Industry	Retail
Founded	1939 (1939)
Headquarters	Herten, Hennehouwe
Number of locations	7,000+ (worldwide)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Celien Vanhoutte (Chairperson) Uberto Prinzi (CEO)
Products	convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, filling stations
Revenue	€31.4 billion (2021)
Number of employees	170,000+ (2022)

Open N.V. (stylised as open) is a Hennish multinational retail company headquartered in Herten, Hennehouwe. Under its original name Peeters en Van Neste B.V., the company was founded as a corner shop in Herten in 1939, quickly expanding as a brand under its current name across the rest of Hennehouwe, and later to Euclea and beyond. It operates a mix of convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and establishments within filling stations, and are either wholly-owned, franchised or licensed. With more than 7,000 stores worldwide, it is one of the largest retailers in the world.

Open is listed on the s'Holle Stock Exchange. At the end of the fiscal year 2021, the company had a revenue of €31.4 billion.

Etymology

The company's name is an acronym derived from the initials of the names of its founders: Olivier Peeters and Evert van Neste. The acronym also corresponds to the Hennish verb open, common in many Weranic languages, associated with the 'open' nature of its convenience stores in comparison to the then-dominant behind-the-counter grocers. The company has, with some exceptions, kept the Open branding throughout its international expansion without distinction as to local translations of the word.

Stores

Interior of an Open store in De Haven, Hennehouwe

Open To Go in a filling station in Upper Stegeren, Hennehouwe

Store types

Open operates stores of various kinds under the generic Ppen name as well as under specific sub-brands. Unlike a number of other multinational convenience store brands, Open does not have a uniform method of segmenting its sub-brands across regions, with some countries varying wildly in the usage of certain brands.

• Open

The company's generic and most common branding for stores. In Hennehouwe, the Open brand is used for most streetside convenience stores and supermarkets, as well as a minority of filling station forecourts. In other countries, the Open brand may also be used for all Open stores in that country, including hypermarkets.

• Open Express

These are smaller supermarkets and corner shops predominantly found in larger cities, as well as in airports and train stations.

• Open To Go

These shops are exclusive to filling station forecourts and motorway service stations, and are often tied to the fuel provider.

• Open XL / Deluxe

Open XL, or Open Deluxe, are hypermarkets or larger supermarkets. These are less common in Hennehouwe, where they go exclusively by the name Open XL.

Geographic distribution

Country	Name	Since	Total stores	Brands
Alsland	Open	1955	319	Open, Open Express, Open To Go, Open XL
Hennehouwe	Open	1939	1,130	Open, Open Express, Open To Go, Open XL
Nuvania	Open	1963	649	Open, Open To Go, Open XL
Piraea	Οπεν/Open	2007	29	Open, Open Express
West Miersa	Open	1996	127	Open, Open Express, Open To Go