This Thursday, December 28, the Bobigny court placed the Habitat brand in compulsory liquidation, without maintaining its activity, due to its serious financial difficulties, sealing the fate of a company which has democratized design for decades .
Everything happened very quickly: less than ten days after the placement in receivership of this company specializing in home furnishings and equipment, the receivers announced on December 15 in the CSE (social and economic committee) that they were going to request its liquidation, given the particularly deteriorated situation of the accounts.
Nearly 400 jobs
The brand, which has 25 stores in France, was founded in 1964 by the British designer Terence Conran (died in 2020), with the aim of offering furniture and decorative objects that are both sober, at an affordable price. clean and modern. Habitat France currently employs nearly 400 employees and had generated a turnover of 65 million euros in 2022. The parent company, Habitat Design International, employs 68 people and had a turnover of 51.8 million euros in 2022.
On November 30, the group’s management explained, however, that its request for placement in recovery was “aimed at stabilizing the financial situation” of the brand, which “has never been profitable in France”, and “to ensure its long-term viability. It then assured “to prepare a recovery plan by way of continuation” and affirmed that its “main objective was to ensure the payment of all suppliers and the delivery of orders to customers”.
“Nearly 9 million euros in advances”
But once the judicial administrators delved into the accounts, they quickly noted that “the conditions were not met for a continuation of the activity” and that there were “more obstacles than opportunities “, a source close to the matter explained to AFP. This source notably indicated that “nearly 9 million euros in deposits, according to initial estimates”, had been paid by customers for the purchase of furniture and other products. Customers who have little chance of getting their orders or money back after liquidation.
Habitat’s difficulties are not recent. The brand was already in a net loss when it was put up for sale in 2019 by its owner at the time, the distributor Cafom. Habitat had previously belonged to the American investment fund Hilco and the Swedish Kamprad family (also owners of Ikea).
In 2020, the brand was bought by entrepreneur-investor Thierry Le Guénic. The same year, this businessman bought the clothing brand Burton of London, which was placed in receivership last summer and which did not find a buyer.