Action is a Dutch international discount store chain with a majority ownership held by British private equity firm 3i, with more than 80% of the shares.^[3] It sells low budget, non-food and some food products with long shelf lives. Action operates stores in eleven countries — Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy and since 2022 in Spain and 2023 Slovakia. Action, with over 2,300 stores and 80,000 employees, generated €8.9 billion in net sales in 2022.^[4]

Action was founded by Gerard Deen and Rob Wagemaker, who were later joined by Boris Deen. They opened their first store in 1993 in Enkhuizen and started expanding by founding new stores that same year. In 2002, they had 94 stores; in 2005, the first store was opened in Belgium, in Rijkevorsel; and, in 2009, they opened their first store in Germany. In 2012, the company had 300 stores and opened its first store in France. In 2014, Action opened its 500th store. It continued growing exponentially. In 2021, there are more than 1,800 stores across Europe. In November 2023 they opened their 2500th store.^[5]