Four furniture chains initiate unique Nordic Cooperation.
The two Swedish furniture chains Svenska Hem and Möbelmästarna has together entered into a partnership with the Danish furniture chains Dan-Bo and Smag & Behag. Together they will reach a total turnover of around 300 million Euros and over 120 member stores. This will strengthen the independent chains’ position on the market with the objective of giving the individual stores benefits, mainly within purchases and logistics.
Svenska Hem and Möbelmästarna started their cooperation at the end of 2008. The cooperation includes joint purchases to a warehouse in Jönköping/Sweden and solutions within administration and ERP system. At around the same time Dan-Bo and Smag & Behag started their cooperation by forming a jointly owned company, In2house, handling all chain activities. All four parties have seen clear benefits of its partnerships in each market. Expanding a strategic cooperation, now across boarders, will contribute to even more benefits for all chains. Cooperation creates competitive advantages Many players in the home furnishings industry means a tough competition in the market. Cooperation provides the opportunity to improve margins for individual stores, while attractive prices can be held towards consumers. The partnership that has started between the four chains is mainly focused on joint purchases and contracts, along with efficiency improvements in logistics. In addition, the chains can also exchange knowledge in areas such as marketing, IT and economics. - We are certain that we cooperate on issues that provide substantial benefits for our stores, consumers, individual chain and partners, says Anders Hedh, CEO Svenska Hem. An exciting future Management and boards already at an early stage agreed on common decisions. All parties are now focused on working with and developing various points of cooperation under the name Furniture Retail Group. - We see more opportunities of finding economies of scale, the chance to learn from each other, and picking out the best of the expanded constellation, says Thomas Hagerup, CEO of In2House. The four chains have in their respective partnerships continuously identified new interesting and strategically advantageous areas of cooperation. They are now looking forward finding even more together. - Cooperation within our respective groups has worked very well and we have developed new areas of cooperation gradually. We are now able to continue in that direction jointly and in a controlled manner, says Inger Claesson, CEO Möbelmästarna.
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