Steinhoff International
 |
|
| Public company | |
| Traded as | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Founder | Bruno Steinhoff |
| Headquarters | Stellenbosch, South Africa |
|
Key people
|
Markus Jooste (CEO) |
| Revenue |
 ZAR 104.7 billion (2015/16)
|
|
Number of employees
|
91,000 (2015)
|
| Subsidiaries |
Bensons for Beds Conforama Harveys Furniture Mattress Firm Pepkor Poundland |
| Website | www.steinhoffinternational.com |
Steinhoff International is a South African-based international retail holding company, dealing mainly in furniture and household goods, which operates in Europe, Africa, Asia, The United States and Australia.
Steinhoff was founded in 1964 by Bruno Steinhoff in Westerstede, Germany. 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 that same year.
In 2005, Steinhoff invested £86 million to revive UK’s Homestyle Group, thus taking ownership of the company.
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.
On 7 December 2015, Steinhoff International moved its primary listing to the 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.
In July 2016, UK discount retail chain Poundland accepted Steinhoff's takeover offer of £597 million. Poundland accepted a higher offer from Steinhoff of £610 million in August 2016. The takeover received shareholder approval in September 2016.
In August 2016, Steinhoff announced its plan to purchase the United States-based Mattress Firm for $3.8 billion. Mattress Firm, founded in 1986, has approximately 3,500 stores across 48 states with 80 distribution centres.
As of 1 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. 60% of the company's revenue, and 2/3 of its benefits, are made in Europe. Steinhoff expanded into the United States market on 7 August 2016.
Steinhoff's South African brands include HiFi Corp, Pennypinchers, Timbercity, Pep, Ackermans, Shoe City, Incredible Connection, and Unitrans.
In the UK, Steinhoff owns the high street brands Cargo,Harveys Furniture, Bensons for Beds, Sleepmaster and Pep&Co.
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