The stores of this brand, well known to the French, will disappear. The new boss has made a radical decision…
In a moribund post-Covid context and faced with competition from online sales, certain brands find themselves forced to close shop because they are no longer enjoying their former success. However, some manage to save themselves precisely thanks to digital technology. “Iconic brands never die, neither does business,” said Hervé Giaoui, president of the French Overseas Purchasing Center (Cafom), on April 23, during a press conference. A major player in the distribution of household equipment overseas, he intends to relaunch a brand well known to the French because it is, according to him, “set in stone”.
The Habitat France brand was, in fact, liquidated at the end of December following major financial difficulties, the Bobigny court considering that no recovery plan was possible and that the situation was too compromised. The furniture and decoration distributor had suffered from the downturn in the mid-range furniture market and a lack of structural investment. While it was promised a stinking and simple disappearance, Cafom nevertheless decided to buy Habitat’s digital assets, for 300,000 euros according to Capital, in order to bring the brand back to life. “Very quickly, Habitat will regain its international position,” assured Mr. Giaoui, aiming to make it “an affordable luxury brand.”
Its relaunch method: sell only via the internet on its own site and on the Vente-unique marketplace. Within four to five weeks, i.e. between the end of May and the beginning of June 2024, the site will be revisited and “iconic” models will be put back on sale. If Cafom will subsequently use the purchased stocks, a new range should be online in September. The brand, founded in 1964, will offer a new contemporary and modernized collection, including partnerships with renowned designers.
To improve its image before the site reopens, customers who were harmed by the liquidation of Habitat will be offered, upon request, a voucher. A form is put online on the first page of the siteHabitat so that the customers concerned can come forward in order to study their file, particularly if they have not been delivered. It will be more complicated to offer a solution to the 400 former employees, laid off at the end of 2023.
Will the brand then succeed in relaunching itself 100% online? The sector is not booming at the moment: overall turnover decreased by 2.5% in 2023, according to French Furniture. If online sales are becoming more and more widespread, Habitat will need a good model to rise from the ashes. At the end of 2022, Made.com, a furniture sales site, was placed in liquidation: this example shows that this will not be an easy task.