(AOF) – Maisons du Monde announces the departure of Régis Massuyeau, Group Administrative and Financial Director and his interim replacement by Gilles Lemaire, Group Management Control Director. After having contributed for more than two years to the transformation and strengthening of the Finance function in a fluctuating macro-economic context, Régis Massuyeau has decided to turn to a new professional project from September 2023. The selection process a new Administrative and Financial Director is in progress and his appointment will be the subject of a subsequent press release.
In order to ensure the transition, François-Melchior de Polignac, Managing Director of Maisons du Monde has appointed Gilles Lemaire, Director of Group Management Control, drawing on his financial experience of nearly 20 years within major international groups and his in-depth knowledge of Maisons du Monde.
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The key points
– Distributor of “original and accessible” decorative products and furniture for the home, created in 1996;
– Presence concentrated in Europe with 350 stores, sales of €1.11 billion, split between France for 54%, with a market share of 20%, ahead of Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany, the United Kingdom, the Middle East;
– Economic model of a unique and affordable offer, based on an integrated approach to supplies, on a “design-to-cost” offer, on store layout know-how, in the form of “immersive staging as well as on “BtoB” sales;
– Open capital with 2 strong positions in investment funds (21.52% for Teleios and 11.27% for Majorelle), Thierry Falque-Perrotin chairing the board of 8 directors and Julie Walbaum being general manager;
– Solid financial structure at the end of June, with €300 million in cash and a leverage effect of less than €1,150 million in loans guaranteed by the State.
Challenges
– Strategy 2025:
– sales between €1.8 and €1.9 billion achieved 48-50% internationally and 60% via digital,
– operating margin of 11% and payout rate of 30 to 40%;
– Innovation strategy focused on:
– design – offering products in line with market trends,
– e-commerce, supported by the multi-channel approach and marketplaces;
– Environmental Strategy 2025:
– carbon neutrality on scopes 1 and 2 in 2023 and 25% reduction in overall carbon intensity,
– strengthening supplier governance,
– offer of “Good is beautiful” products: from 21% in 2021 to 40% in 2025,
– circularity: offers for reconditioning, repair and second-hand sales,
– biodiversity: from 33 preservation projects in 2021 to 100 in 2025;
– Success of the online offer: 53% of sales, including 20% through the “click-in-store”;
– Reinforcement in distribution centers in France, warehouse in the north of France;
– Continued rebuilding of furniture stocks (90% of products sold from Vietnam and China).
Challenges
– Fragmented and competitive French market between the 5 big ones – Casa, Habitat, Maisons du Monde, Zara Home and Zodio – which control 1/3 of it;
– Sensitivity to sales of 4
th
quarter (1/3 of annual income);
– Negative impacts of the inflation of raw materials, energy and maritime freight, the €/$ parity and the deterioration of the supply chain which will be offset from 2023 by the targeted increase in selling prices, by €20 million in cost reduction;
– After a decline of 2.3% in activity and 59% in net profit on 1
er
semester, 2022 objectives confirmed: 1 to 10% decline in sales, operating margin of at least 5%;
– Share buyback program on 10% of the capital.
Find out more about the specialized distribution sector
Concerns remain
According to the Federation of Specialized Trade, Procos, in October 2022, activity fell by 1.5% over one year. Nevertheless, the beauty and health (+ 5.2%) and specialized food (+ 3.5%) activity is dynamic compared to October 2021. The frequentation of the points of sale was very impacted by the problems of fuel and bad weather. Compared to October 2019, the pre-covid year, the drop in attendance is very sharp (-20.9% in October). Shopping centers and the outskirts are more impacted than city centers with a difference of four to five points.
Several reasons for concern exist for the future. The players are experiencing a very significant scissor effect given the increase in their operating costs while the evolution of demand is very uncertain. Very few brands can pass on the increase in their costs to their selling prices. The federation therefore asks, among other things, to limit the indexation of the Commercial Rent Index to + 3.5% for the rents of all companies in 2023. It also invokes an absolute urgency: to cap the price of energy for 2023 and retroact on the contracts already signed to prevent the rate of failures from accelerating.