A brand created in 1964 in London, Habitat has gradually increased its stores in France and other European countries, a development marked by a succession of difficulties.
(AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)
Terence Conran (died in 2020) wanted to offer chic, sober and affordable furniture and home accessories. “Habitat was born from a frustration, that of not being able to sell its creations, refused by the stores of the time,” writes the brand on its website.
The British designer would later say that he owed his initial success to selling cheap pots at a time when the English were starting to buy dried pasta.
The chain opened its first overseas store in 1973 in Paris, France, and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1981. Terence Conran – knighted in 1983 – left the business in 1989.
Habitat was sold in 1992 to Ikano, the holding company of Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish founder of Ikea. In 2004, a document reported 40 stores in the United Kingdom, 29 in France, 5 in Spain and 4 in Germany, in addition to franchises in Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Portugal and Thailand.
But losses accumulated and Inako sold Habitat in 2009 to the American investment fund Hilco. This specialist in the recovery of companies in difficulty declared most of the British activities bankrupt in 2011 and sold the rest to Home Retail Group – later taken over by Sainsbury’s – which will notably create “Mini Habitat” in its Argos stores.
Also in 2011, Hilco sold Habitat activities outside the United Kingdom – and particularly in France – to the distributor Cafom. Despite numerous restructuring attempts and the passage of former minister Arnaud Montebourg to the management of Habitat (as vice-president in charge of innovation) for a year in 2015-2016, the brand is still accumulating losses.
In 2018, Norwegian stores went bankrupt. In 2019, it’s the Germans’ turn.
Habitat Design International – the group bringing together activities outside the United Kingdom – was sold in 2020 to entrepreneur-investor Thierry Le Guénic.
After difficult months, the company was placed in receivership on December 6, 2023, and the stores closed. The brand was withdrawn by its owner and liquidation was declared on December 28.
The Habitat Design International site still offered an online catalog on Thursday in 14 countries, as far as Finland and Montenegro. At the end of the adventure, 25 stores remained in France, 2 in Spain and 2 in Switzerland.
The last stores in England also closed in July. The website and stands in Sainsbury’s stores remain across the Channel.