PRESS RELEASE
MAISONS DU MONDE ACCELERATES IN INTERIOR DECORATION
ADVICE BY TAKING A MAJORITY STAKE IN START-UP RHINOV
Nantes, 14 June 2019
Maisons du Monde (Euronext Paris: MDM, ISIN Code: FR0013153541), a European leader in affordable and inspirational decoration and furniture homeware, is strengthening its service offering in decoration advice by taking a majority stake of 70.4% in Rhinov, a start-up that is reinventing the interior decorating trade.
With this majority stake, Maisons du Monde intends to consolidate its positioning as an expert in interior decoration. Over the past 18 months, Maisons du Monde has been developing interior decoration advice services in an omnichannel approach. In December 2017, Maisons du Monde opened a showroom in Paris dedicated to support its clients in their refurbishing projects. Building on this success, Maisons du Monde launched in September 2018 a range of omnichannel services, including the deployment of decoration advice corners (“coins Conseil Déco”) in stores (50 at the end of June 2019) and three digital solutions, including one in partnership with the Rhinov platform around Maisons du Monde products.
Since its creation in 2013, Rhinov has democratized access to the services of interior decorators with a 100% online offer, available from 99€/room. Each client project is tailor-made by Rhinov’s professional interior decorators, with a high-quality photo-realistic 3D visualization. In 2014, Rhinov positioned itself in the BtoB market, offering a 3D home staging service enabling real estate agents to increase the attractiveness of the properties they sell. In 2017, Rhinov continued its development and delivered a 3D imaging service for developers, then moved into the BtoC market by offering an interior decoration advice service for individuals. In 2018, Rhinov launched an e-shop allowing its customers to directly order the products staged in 3D projects.
Based in Bordeaux, Rhinov now has 50 employees (including 25 interior designers and graphic designers) and manages nearly 1,500 projects per month. In 2018, Rhinov posted revenue of 1.3 million euros.
Rhinov will continue its dynamic development, operating autonomously under its own brand and with the same management team.
This majority stake will enable the two companies to benefit from new synergies, notably by commercializing Rhinov’s services on Maisons du Monde’s website and in its stores.
Maisons du Monde’s stake will be financed entirely in cash, without recourse to additional indebtedness.
Julie Walbaum, Chief Executive Officer of Maisons du Monde, declared: "We look forward to deepening the work begun in 2018 with the Rhinov teams as part of our digital partnership. Through this modern vision of the interior decorator, which is complementary to our multi-style offering and inspiring visuals, we will reinforce the service dimension of our brand, in order to become our customers’ preferred partner for all their decoration projects, from inspiration to realization.”
Xavier Brissonneau, Bastien Paquereau and Jérôme Schurch, co-founders and managers of Rhinov, declared: "After several months of partnership, we are delighted with this rapprochement with Maisons du Monde, a growing omnichannel group with an inspiring brand that is complementary to ours. We created Rhinov to democratize interior design advice, combining the potential of 3D technologies and artificial intelligence with the talents of our interior decorators. This new stage will allow us to accelerate access for all to interior decoration services and continue our company’s dynamic growth."
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About Maisons du Monde
Maisons du Monde is a creator of inspirational lifestyle universes in the homeware industry, offering distinctive and affordable decoration and furniture collections that showcase multiple styles. The Group develops its business through an integrated and complementary omnichannel approach, leveraging its international network of stores, its websites and its catalogues. The Group was founded in France in 1996 and has expanded profitably across Europe since 2003, reporting sales of €1,111 million and EBITDA of €148 million in 2018. At 31 December 2018, the Group operated 336 stores in 9 countries including France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom, and derived 40% of its sales outside France. The Group has also built a successful complementary and comprehensive ecommerce platform, whose sales grew by over 30% per year on average between 2010 and 2018. This platform, which accounted for 23% of the Group's sales in 2018, is available in the countries where it operates stores plus Austria, the Netherlands and Portugal. In 2018, the Group acquired a majority stake in Modani, a furniture chain present in the United States through its stores and ecommerce business. Modani, founded in 2017, is an aspirational lifestyle brand, offering high-quality proprietary modern, contemporary and mid-century furniture at affordable price points, with a nationwide presence through a network of 13 showrooms.
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About Rhinov
Since its creation in 2013, Rhinov has democratized access to interior decoration services with a 100% online offer, from 99€/room. Each project is tailor-made by professional interior designers, based on a plan or sketches and photos sent by the client. The French start-up, based in Bordeaux, now has 50 employees and manages nearly 1,500 projects each month. In 2018, Rhinov posted revenue of 1.3 million euros.
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Contacts
| Investor Relations | Media Relations |
| Laurent Sfaxi – +33 2 51 71 52 07 | Clémentine Prat – +33 2 51 79 54 08 |
| lsfaxi@maisonsdumonde.com | cprat@maisonsdumonde.com |
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