Steinhoff International

Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.
Public
Traded as
Industry Retail
Founded 1964 (1964)
(Westerstede, Lower Saxony, Germany)
Founder Bruno Steinhoff
Headquarters Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
Key people
 Markus Jooste (former CEO)
Revenue Increase ZAR 104.7 billion (2015/16)[1]
Number of employees
 Increase 130,000 (2018)[2]
Subsidiaries Bensons for Beds
Conforama
Harveys Furniture
Mattress Firm
Freedom Furniture
Fantastic Furniture
Snooze
Best & Less
Pepkor
Poundland
Website www.steinhoffinternational.com
Conforama in Wallisellen, Switzerland
Plant in Kłodzko

Steinhoff International is a South African international retail holding company that is dual listed in Germany. Steinhoff deals mainly in furniture and household goods, and operates in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

History

Steinhoff was founded in 1964 by Bruno Steinhoff in Westerstede, Germany.[3][4] Bruno Steinhoff sourced furniture from communist Europe and sold it in Western Europe. In 1997, Steinhoff acquired 35% of South-Africa-based Gommagomma, preparing for a merger the following year. The company moved its headquarters to South Africa in 1998, attracted by the low production costs, and went public on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that same year.[5]

In 2005, Steinhoff invested £86 million to revive the UK's Homestyle Group, thus taking ownership of the company.[5]

In 2011, Steinhoff bought Conforama, Europe's second largest retailer of home furnishings, with over 200 stores in France, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Italy and Croatia, spending $1.2 billion for the acquisition.[5]

In December 2015, Steinhoff International moved its primary listing to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and founded a new Dutch holding company based in Amsterdam. The management remained in South Africa.

In 2015, South African low-end retail investment and holding company Pepkor became a member of the Steinhoff International Group for $5.7 billion.[5]

In July 2016, UK discount retail chain Poundland accepted Steinhoff's takeover offer of £597 million.[6] Poundland accepted a higher offer from Steinhoff of £610 million in August 2016.[7] The takeover received shareholder approval in September 2016.[8]

In August 2016, Steinhoff announced its plan to purchase the US-based Mattress Firm for $3.8 billion.[9] In October 2018, Mattress Firm filed for bankruptcy.[10]

On 6 December 2017, Steinhoff's CEO, Markus Jooste, resigned after Steinhoff's auditors refused to sign off on the audited financials as a result of reported accounting irregularities in its accounts. Certain fraud allegations are currently being investigated in Frankfurt by the German authorities. As a result of the resignation, Steinhoff's share price plummeted.[11]

A $1.9 billion margin loan was provided to Steinhoff by a consortium of lenders, including Japanese bank Nomura and a range of U.S. institutions.[12] Nomura confirmed that it had booked an unrealised loss of 14 billion yen (or $128 million in 2018 dollars). The loan itself had been partly organised by Steinhoff's Chairman, Christo Wiese.[13]

In December 2017, the Standing Committee on Finance of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa condemned Steinhoff and called for investigations of the company by regulatory bodies including the Financial Services Board (FSB) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).[14][15][16]

Brands

As of August 2016, Steinhoff held retailing activities in 30 countries, counting 6,500 retail outlets belonging to 40 different brands, and employing about 90,000 employees.[1] 60% of the company's revenue, and two-thirds of its benefits, are made in Europe.[5] Steinhoff expanded into the United States market on 7 August 2016.[9]

Steinhoff's South African brands include Ackermans, Buco, Dunns, Flash, HiFi Corp, Incredible Connection, John Craig, Pennypinchers, Pep, Refinery, Russels, Shoe City, Tekkie Town, Timbercity and Unitrans.[17] Powersales is another African Steinhoff brand.

In the UK, Steinhoff owns the high street brands Bensons for Beds, Cargo,[18] Harveys Furniture, Pep&Co, Poundland and Sleepmaster.

In Ireland, Steinhoff operates Dealz and Pep&Co.

Steinhoff's European brands include Conforama, Kika, Leiner, Pepco and Poco.

In Australia and New Zealand, Steinhoff Asia Pacific Holdings operates brands including Bay Leather Republic, Best & Less, Freedom (formerly trading as Freedom Furniture), Harris Scarfe, MOZI, Postie, Snooze (a bed and bedroom furniture franchise that prior to 2006 traded as "Capt’n Snooze") and Store & Order. The acquisition of Fantastic Holdings in 2017 has proved significant to Steinhoff's growth in Australia which added Fantastic Furniture, OMF and Plush as well as additional manufacturing facilities to the group.

References

  1. 1 2 "Group overview: Quick facts". Steinhoffinternational.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "2014/15 results" (PDF). Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Kew, Janice (6 December 2017). "The Rise and Fall of Steinhoff, South Africa's Global Retailer". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Steinhoff returns to German roots | IOL Business Report". Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Andrew England (24 February 2016). "Home Retail bid fits Steinhoff's bold strategy for expansion". Ft.com. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Poundland agrees to £597m takeover from Steinhoff". BBC News. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Poundland agrees higher takeover offer from Steinhoff". BBC News. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Bradshaw, Julia (7 September 2016). "Steinhoff seals Poundland takeover after shareholders give blessing". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  9. 1 2 "South Africa's Steinhoff to Buy Mattress Firm for $3.8 Billion". Fortune. Reuters. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Kary, Tiffany (5 October 2018). "Steinhoff's Mattress Firm Goes Bankrupt, Shuts Some Stores". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Steinhoff CEO resigns over global retail accounting failures". Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  12. ↑ "Nomura Lost Millions on Margin Loan Tied to Steinhoff". 1 February 2018 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  13. ↑ "403. Forbidden - Bloomberg" – via www.bloomberg.com.
  14. ↑ "Finance Committee Outraged by Irregularities at Steinhoff - Parliament of South Africa". www.parliament.gov.za. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  15. ↑ "Parliament's finance committee lashes out at Steinhoff". Fin24. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  16. ↑ "Parliamentary committees condemn Steinhoff scandal". Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  17. ↑ "Group overview". Steinhoff International Holdings. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Contact Us". Cargohomeshop.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

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