Habitat (retailer)

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**Habitat UK Limited.**

Type	Limited company
Founded	May 11, 1964
Location	Shoreditch, London
Key people	Jens Nordahl (CEO) Tom Dixon (Non-exec Creative Director)
Industry	Retailer
Products	Home accessories, furniture, upholstery
Website	www.habitat.net

Habitat is a retailer of household furnishings which operates its own stores in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchise outlets elsewhere. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran it is today in the same ownership as the much larger furniture retailer IKEA.

Habitat currently operates 74 stores: 40 stores in the UK, 24 in France, five in Spain and five in Germany. In addition, the company operates 17 stores in partnership with franchisees in nine countries: Belgium (three stores), Cyprus, Greece (four stores), Iceland, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Portugal (four stores), Republic of Ireland (two stores), and Thailand.

Habitat is a part of the IKANO Group, a private company owned by the Kamprad family (Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in Älmhult, Sweden in the 1940's).

[edit] History

Terence Conran founded the company in London in 1964, opening his own store to market his Summa range of furniture to its best effect. The first Habitat store was opened in Chelsea by Conran, his then wife Caroline, the model Pagan Taylor, and the entrepreneur Philip Pollock. This store became the Habitat template, with its quarry tiled floor, whitewashed brick walls, white-painted wooden-slatted ceilings and spotlights creating a feeling of space and focusing attention on the product. Conran's Habitat stores also featured cafes and innovated selling kitchen and decorative items alongside furniture. Conran has said the main reason for the shop's initial success was that Habitat was one of the few places that sold cheap Pasta storage jars just as the market for dried pasta took off in the UK.

The business expanded quickly in the UK throughout the 1960's and internationally in the 1970's in Paris. In the UK Conran opened up a network of out of town warehouse stores. Habitat also published a catalogue that showed a range of products grouped together in an ideal interior creating the impression that the customer was also buying into a distinctive lifestyle.

In 1964 Habitat challenged the traditional conventions of English furniture by radiating modernity. Its key values have endured and live on within the business today: simplicity, functionality, beauty and affordability.

In 1981, the company floated on the London Stock Exchange and merged with Mothercare Group to form Habitat/Mothercare Group PLC in 1982. This acquisitive growth continued into 1983, when the listed company bought the furniture retailer Heal's and the fashion chain Richards. In 1986, the company merged with British Home Stores to form the Storehouse Group plc. In 1992 Habitat was purchased from Storehouse by IKANO.

In the financial year ending 31 March 1987 net sales were €328 million (down from €343 million in 2003), representing static sales growth at constant exchange rates.

The company's retail and franchise operations combined employ a total of around 3,000 people.