XXXLutz announces takeover bid for Home24

The Austrian furniture retail group XXXLutz (370 furniture stores in Europe) is continuing its expansion. The focus is now on online retailing and so the XXXLutz Group has now published its decision to make a voluntary public takeover offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Home24 SE to all shareholders of Home24. XXXLutz will offer the shareholders of Home24 a purchase price of EUR 7.50 per share. Home24 is a leading e-commerce platform in the home & living sector and is listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Höffner furniture stores: Hoffmann succeeds Dankert

There is a change in the overall management of the Höffner furniture stores. On 4 October, Joachim Hoffman took over the management from Thomas Dankert. Hoffmann has been with the company since 2006 and has held several management positions. Thomas Dankert (65) worked for Höffner for 30 years. "We are very proud of this success and grateful for his tireless commitment. Thomas Dankert will continue to be available to the group of companies with his experience," says the company headquarters.

Otto Golze & Söhne: Florian Müller becomes new CEO

Florian Müller will take over the management of Otto Golze & Söhne GmbH on 1 October 2022. Main shareholder Ekkehart Golze will assist the company in the future as a member of the board of directors and shareholder. "I am very pleased that our paths have crossed and that I can hand over the responsibility of our family business, which will be 150 years old next year, into the hands of Mr. Müller," says Golze about the change in management. Florian Müller, a sales and marketing professional, was most recently Vice President Home & Business at Hailo.

XXXLutz acquires a stake in Braun Möbel-Center

The expansion of the XXXLutz Group continues. The Austrian furniture group has announced a 50% stake in Braun Möbel-Center. Braun operates 10 furniture stores in the south and south-west of Germany. With a good 1,000 employees, Braun is targeting a turnover of over EUR 200 million for 2022. "The newly acquired businesses are an ideal fit for the XXXL concept and are market leaders at their locations thanks to their superior selection," explains Thomas Saliger, company spokesman for the XXXLutz Group.

Tibetan Carpet Weekend at the Carpet Museum Schloss Voigtsberg

The two experts on Tibetan carpets Franz Xaver Erhard and Thomas Wild are organising a Tibetan Carpet Weekend from 14 to 16 October 2022. The context will be the ongoing exhibition "Drumze" of the carpet museum Schloß Voigtsberg. In addition to a curated tour of the exhibition, there will be a series of lectures. Speakers include the two organisers, as well as Ruper Smith, Michael Buddebert and Birgit Voß.

Messe Frankfurt wants to break new ground with consumer goods fairs

Messe Frankfurt explained at a digital press conference which new paths it intends to take with the three leading international consumer-goods fairs Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld. The aim is to make the trade fairs more efficient, more intensive and smarter.

From 3-4 to 7 February 2023, the three leading international trade fairs Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld will be held in parallel at the Frankfurt exhibition centre.

moebel.de launches portals in Austria and Switzerland

The furniture portal moebel.de is continuing its announced internationalisation strategy. After the new Austrian platform möbel24.at went live a few weeks ago, the launch of the Swiss portal möbel24.ch is on the agenda for October. The two new portals offer Austrian, Swiss and German platform partners opportunities for their customer approach: on the one hand, Austrian and Swiss online shops and bricks-and-mortar retailers can benefit from the lead generation of the respective national product portal; on the other hand, German partners who operate their business throughout the DACH region can now address even more customers directly with the extra reach in the Alpine countries.

Jysk reports record turnover

With growth of 11% to the equivalent of EUR 4.87 billion, Jysk set a new record for total turnover in the 2021/22 financial year. Nevertheless, the current global challenges did not leave the Danish group unaffected. "With this very special year behind us, we have achieved a good sales result," Jan Bøgh, President and CEO, expresses his satisfaction. Business had been under pressure, especially in the summer, with smaller purchases and fewer customers due to rising inflation.

Heimtextil: Bettina Bär takes over home textiles segment

Messe Frankfurt's Heimtextil, Techtextil and Texprocess textile fairs will start under new management in future. Bettina Bär will be responsible for the home textiles segment at Heimtextil from 15 September 2022. She succeeds Sabine Scharrer, who will take over the position of Show Director of the leading international trade fairs Techtextil and Texprocess and Brand Management.

Balta plant in Avelgem to be closed, investment in other sites

At an special works council meeting, Balta Industries NV (Balta Rugs) announced its intention to close its site in Avelgem. Some of the activities are to be transferred to other Belgian sites. At the same time, Balta announced investments for the expansion of the headquarters in Sint-Baafs-Vijve into a central logistics centre.