First it was overrun by customers, now demand is collapsing: The online furniture retailer Home24 has had a wild roller coaster ride. Now the furniture store giant XXXLutz wants to buy the company. Home24 boss Marc Appelhoff speaks in the podcast about retail in times of crisis.

Since prices have soared and fears of a recession have gripped the country, customers have been reluctant to shop. This also affects the online furniture retailer Home24, which was previously spoiled by success. Sales fell by 12 percent in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year. “This is currently one of the most difficult market phases in a long time,” says Home24 boss Marc Appelhoff in the podcast “The hour zero”.

“There are a lot of people worried about inflation and other macro issues.” In the meantime, the reluctance to buy means that manufacturers are left with their products. “All market participants have too many goods in stock,” says Appelhoff. In this situation, the manager finds it convenient that the furniture store operator XXXLutz has plans to take over Home24 and has already submitted a corresponding offer. XXXLutz already holds a majority of the voting rights.

“Without this combination, we would certainly bake smaller rolls,” says Appelhoff, who points out that the furniture store generates sales that are around ten times higher than Home24. However, the online retailer attaches great importance to remaining independent. “We have a growing and profitable business model that is now suffering massively in the crisis, but will have a lot of potential in the future,” says Appelhoff. The takeover by XXXLutz could accelerate what Home24 had already begun to do in recent years: The online retailer had opened showrooms in city centers where customers can try out the furniture on site and only then order it.

The company had also taken over the Butlers chain of stores, giving it an even greater presence outside of the Internet. “85 percent of customers still buy their furniture offline,” says Appelhoff. You have to win these people over. A conceivable variant: more and larger Home24 stores in the inner cities.

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