Fiparin acquires a stake in Roche Bobois

Fiparin acquired today a 17% of Furn-Invest SAS, holding company of Roche Bobois Group, the world leader in the creation and selective distribution of high level, design and luxury furniture and home furnishing products.

The group has the largest worldwide chain of high quality furniture stores, with a presence – direct and / or through franchising – currently consisting of 335 stores located in prestigious shopping areas, with a relevant presence in the most important towns of the main countries. The stores are 260+ in Europe, 20+ between the United States of America and Canada and 40+ in South America, Africa and Asia.

The group also includes the Cuir Center chain, the leading distributor, within the French market, for leather furniture products, operating through a network of 86 stores – direct and / or through franchising – positioned on a market segment complementary to the one of Roche Bobois.

Roche Bobois SA (ISIN: FR0013344173 – Ticker: RBO), the global benchmark in high-end home furnishings and French Art de Vivre, posted revenue of €94.2m in Q1 2024, down 9.4% year-on-year. This performance level aligns with the Group’s roadmap for the start of this financial year. As a reminder, for the full financial year 2024, the Group aims to repeat the record performance delivered in 2023, gradually trending upward and with a return to growth in the second half of the year.

Revenue in Q1 2024 stood at €94.2m, down 9.4% at current exchange rates versus Q1 2023. It came out equivalent to Q1 2022, a quarter turning in a good performance. This result was in line with the Group’s expectations for the start of 2024[1], on the back of exceptionally high delivery momentum at end-2023 (one-off impact on the order backlog, i.e. €137m at 31 December 2023 vs. €170m a year earlier).

This impact was consistent throughout the Group’s regions since the shorter delivery times at end-2023 applied to all territories. In addition, as a reminder, the comparison basis for Q1 2023 was particularly high. As a result, revenue for France and the rest of Europe respectively totalled €27.4m and €22.6m (i.e. -9.7% and -6.4%). The United States/Canada region achieved revenue of €32.1m (-15.5% at current exchange rates and -14.5% at constant exchange rates).

Note that the Cuir Center brand reported double-digit growth (+13.6%) with revenue of €10.1m in Q1 2024 versus €8.9m a year earlier, notably owing to scope effect.

In the 2024 financial year, and for the years to come, despite a continued less buoyant market environment, Roche Bobois SA upholds its ambition to show the same record performance as 2023.