Danish home furnishings retailer JYSK is expanding its IT team with the opening of a new tech hub in Lisbon.

The retailer, which operates more than 3,500 stores and web shops in 48 countries, said the tech hub will help to further develop and implement IT solutions to improve customer experience across the business.

Thomas Høiberg Jensen, director SAP & IT development at JYSK, said JYSK will be initially looking to recruit people with Java competencies and a local team leader to support the development of the location.

“The goal is to create a tech hub that enables even faster growth and innovation for the benefit of both our stores and customers," said Jensen.

The company said that the first software engineers are expected to start in May, with plans to employ a further 10-15 people before the summer holidays.

The move follows the recent promotion of former chief information officer Keld Marott to executive vice president of IT.

The retailer added that it has also recently hired a local company that helps with recruitment in the start-up phase and office facilities.

"Although our recruitment has never been faster, the greater ambitions in IT have led to more open IT positions,” said Marott. “The office in Lisbon will help this.”

Marott added that the choice of Lisbon as the location was based on several factors, including a good cultural match, the number of qualified people in the country due to the presence of technical education, and the proximity of the time zone to JYSK's main IT departments in Aarhus (Denmark) and Handewitt (Germany), which makes collaboration easier.

The centre, which is expected to open in the spring, will be established in continuation with JYSK’s primary IT departments in Handewitt and Aarhus.

"The new tech hub in Lisbon should be seen as a complement to our existing locations, and we will of course continue to recruit new talents in both Handewitt and Aarhus," said Marott.

---