(BFM Bourse) – The furniture brand has just appointed a new Chief Operating Officer. Maisons du Monde is evolving not far from its historical lows, the financial intermediaries not excluding new disappointments on the file.
Maisons du Monde is beefing up its staff to get off to a good start. The furniture brand has just appointed Christophe Lapotre as Executive Director of Operations, a position he has held since July 1, 2023.
He will have the heavy task of tackling the development of Maisons du Monde sales and overseeing the performance of the group’s 352 stores in 9 European countries.
The market barely reacted to this announcement, with Maisons du Monde down slightly by 0.2% to 8.445 euros around 4:15 p.m. Since the beginning of the year, the action has lost nearly 28%, penalized by investor concerns about the company’s activity, in a context that is not very buoyant for consumption.
Concerns about the direction of sales
At the end of June, these fears led TP ICAP Midcap to sell the stock. The design office had decided to downgrade its opinion on Maisons du Monde after the publication of Banque de France figures for May, showing a decline in furniture sales of 8.6% in volume compared to the same month. of 2022 and 1.9% in value.
In this context, it will be difficult for Maisons de Monde to reverse the erosion of its sales, which fell by 14% in the first quarter on a like-for-like basis. The managing director, François-Melchior de Polignac, mentioned last May “a high basis of comparison and a macroeconomic context which remains complex and continues to weigh on consumer confidence and purchasing power” to justify this downturn in activity. . This was reflected in particular by a drop in traffic both in stores and in online sales.
Maisons du Monde was therefore forced to lower the curtain in several cities in France, such as Rouen, in March, while in Le Havre, a similar decision was scheduled last Saturday, reveals Actu 76.
With purchasing power eroded by inflation, households are concentrating on purchasing essential products. And therefore ignore so-called discretionary consumer goods such as furniture. In this unfavorable context for retailers, TP ICAP Midcap drives the point home and “doesn’t exclude[t] no new disappointments on the file”.
Reductions that will be expensive for an analyst
However, Maisons du Monde is working to reverse the trend to stem the decline in sales. The furniture and interior decoration specialist announced last April price reductions of 8% on average on the “most expensive products for home furnishings”.
In a note published last April, Clément Génelot, an analyst at Bryan Garnier, warned that these operations in favor of purchasing power risked putting pressure on the profitability of Maisons du Monde. He then went on to sell the title.
For 2023, the specialist brand is aiming for an EBIT (operating result) of between 65 and 75 million euros, an objective deemed “ambitious” by TP ICAP Midcap because it implies a rebound in activity in the second part of 2023 “which looks less and less likely”, contrary to the ambitions of Maisons du Monde, which is counting on an improvement in sales in the second half compared to the first.
The market will have to wait until July 27, the date of the half-year results, to learn of the effects of inflation on the first part of Maisons du Monde’s 2023 financial year.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse
Are you following this action?
Receive all the information about MAISONS DU MONDE in real time: