The owner of Habitat’s mainland European outlets is planning to sell the chain, French holding company Cafom announced on October 3.
Hervé Giaoui, Habitat CEO, said that some French stores may close, although he did not give any details. The chain has 36 retail outlets in total, with 27 in France, five in Spain, three in Switzerland and one in Monaco. It also has 39 franchised stores elsewhere.
Giaoui told Capital.fr that he would prefer a “solid parner.” “I hope that our buyer will be a large group, or even a competitor or industrialist, who can develop the company abroad, maintain our image and secure our business.”
Habitat was started in the UK in 1964, and the Continental business has been owned by Cafom since 2011. During the last year for which results are available, 2017-2018, Cafom reported a loss of 13.9 million euros as a result of restructuring Habitat which involved closing six shops in Germany.
ORIGINAL SOURCES: retaildetail.eu, Capital.fr, others PHOTO: Google commons
