Groupe Habitat - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in ## Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 History 2 Locations 3 Products 4 References 5 External links Toggle the table of contents ## Groupe Habitat Add languages Add links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia International chain of stores This article is about the international home furnishings retailer. For the separate now unrelated United Kingdom operations, see Habitat (retailer). For other uses, see Habitat (disambiguation). Habitat Design International S.A.S. TypeLimited company IndustryRetailer Founded1973 FoundersTerence Conran and Philip Pollock Headquarters Aubervilliers , France Number of locations 61 Area served Worldwide (excluding the United Kingdom) Key people Hervé Giaoui (Director) ProductsHome accessories, furniture, upholstery OwnerThierry Le Guénic Websitewww.habitat-design.com Groupe Habitat is an international chain of stores of British origin created by Sir Terence Conran in 1973, which specialises in the sale of furniture and contemporary decorative accessories. In September 2011 it was purchased by the French group Cafom SA distribution,[1] who sold it to the industrialist Thierry Le Guénic in October 2020.[2] ## History [edit] On 11 May 1964, Sir Terence Conran, a young furniture designer and restaurateur, opened the first Habitat store on Fulham Road, London. It aimed to modernise the British furniture industry offering contemporary design at affordable prices. The brand then grew rapidly by anticipating the tastes of the public. In 1973, the company opened its first French store in Paris, in the Montparnasse district. For the next two decades, Habitat continued its expansion in Europe, opening stores in France, Spain and Germany. In the 1980s, Sir Terence Conran merged Habitat into the Storehouse plc group, which included British Home Stores, Richard Shops, Mothercare, Heal's and a 50% share of SavaCentre. In 1992, Habitat joined the Ikano group. Founded by the Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad, founder and owner of IKEA, Ikano consisted of independent companies operating in different sectors. During this period, the Kamprad family recruited new talents, such as Vittorio Radice, and consolidated the Habitat brand on the furniture and interior markets. In 1998, Tom Dixon was also asappointed director of design. In September 2011, Habitat joined the Cafom SA group (except the United Kingdom subsidiary). Founded by Hervé Giaoui in 1985, Cafom SA is an independent French retail group specialising in home improvements. The group was already present on the French market through its online retail site Vente-unique.com and with a dozen stores overseas as well.[3] In 2011, French designer Pierre Favresse was appointed artistic director of the brand Habitat. In 2014, Habitat celebrates 50 years of existence, and uses big names to celebrate the event: Sir Terence Conran and Thierry Marx. On 19 March 2015, the former French Economy Minister, Arnaud Montebourg, is appointed Vice President of Habitat for Innovation. Cafom SA sold Groupe Habitat to the industrialist Thierry Le Guénic in October 2020. However, the sale excluded the international intellectual property rights to the brand name "Habitat" (excluding the United Kingdom rights where it is owned by Sainsbury's), which would be retained and exclusively licensed from Cafom SA with an option to buy the brand in three years time.[2] ## Locations [edit] Habitat store in Madrid (Spain) Habitat products are marketed in various European stores and on a website. As of October 2020 Habitat now has 31 stores in France (25), Monaco (1), Spain (3), and Switzerland (2) and three e-Commerce websites in France, Spain, and Belgium. As of October 2017, the company opened the first store in Italy since shut down in the 90s.[2] Habitat store in Siam Discovery, Bangkok, Thailand Habitat store in Windsor House, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong As of October 2020, the company also has 30 franchise stores in countries including Belgium, China, Finland, French Guiana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, La Réunion, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Martinique, Montenegro, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saint-Martin, Singapore, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey.[2] ## Products [edit] Habitat offers specialised product lines in home furnishings and decorating: sofas and armchairs, living and dining rooms, offices, bedrooms and kitchens. ## References [edit] ↑ Harrison, Nicola (8 July 2011). "Hilco sells Habitat European arm to Cafom Sa". Retail Week. Retrieved 25 December 2012. 1 2 3 4 "Cafom completes sale of Habitat to Le Guénic". EUWID Wood Products and Panels. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020. ↑ "A new era for Habitat ... 'How can we trade with three shops?". The Guardian. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2016. ## External links [edit] Official website Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groupe_Habitat&oldid=1356580546" Categories: Retail companies established in 1973 British design Conran family Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use British English from July 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in British English Use dmy dates from May 2025 This page was last edited on 28 May 2026, at 17:15 (UTC). Page was rendered with Parsoid. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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