Habitat (enterprise)

Groupe Habitat Design International

Type	Limited company
Industry	Retailer
Founded	11 May 1964
Founders	Terence Conran and Philip Pollock
Headquarters	Paris, France
Number of locations	532
Area served	Worldwide (excluding the United Kingdom)
Key people	Hervé Giaoui (Director)
Products	Home accessories, furniture, upholstery
Owner	Cafom SA
Website	www.habitat.net

Groupe Habitat is an international chain of stores of British origin created by Sir Terence Conran in 1964, which specialises in the sale of furniture and contemporary decorative accessories. Since September 2011 it has been owned by the French group CAFOM distribution.

On 11 May 1964, Sir Terence Conran, a young furniture designer and restaurateur, opened the first Habitat store Fulham Road, London. It aimed to modernise the British furniture industry offering contemporary design at affordable prices. The brand then grew rapidly by anticipating the tastes of the public.

In 1973, the company opened its first French store in Paris, in the Montparnasse district. For the next two decades, Habitat continued its expansion in Europe, opening stores in France, Spain and Germany.

In the 1980s, Sir Terence Conran merged Habitat into the Storehouse plc group, which included British Home Stores, Richard Shops, Mothercare, Heal's and a 50% share of SavaCentre.

In 1992, Habitat joined the Ikano group. Founded by the Swedish businessman Ingvar Kamprad, founder and owner of IKEA, Ikano consisted of independent companies operating in different sectors. During this period, the Kamprad family recruited new talents, such as Vittorio Radice, and consolidated the Habitat brand on the furniture and interior markets. In 1998, Tom Dixon was also asappointed director of design.

In September 2011, Habitat joined the CAFOM group (except the United Kingdom subsidiary). Founded by Hervé Giaoui in 1985, CAFOM is an independent French retail group specialising in home improvements. The group was already present on the French market through its online retail site Vente-unique.com and with a dozen stores overseas as well.