24/02/2010 Habitat announces voluntary redundancy programme

Furniture retailer Habitat has announced a voluntary redundancy package to staff at its London head office in a bid to return to a profit.

 

Revealing that the Habitat Group has been loss-making for a number of years, losses during 2009/10 reached a total of almost EUR40m.

 

The redundancy programme, which Habitat predicts could save it EUR5m, is being funded through a loan from retail restructuring specialist Hilco, which acquired the business in December 2009.

However, having taken action since December 2009 to return the retailer to profit, including opening a store at Liverpool One, Habitat reported that sales for the last three months exceeded budget and were +24% on a like-for-like basis in the UK.  European sales are also well ahead of prior year levels.

Looking to expand its retail footprint, Habitat revealed that it had confirmed terms for a new store at the Zubiarte Center in Bilbao, Spain.

 

Advanced negotiations for at least six other European concessions to open in the spring/summer are also reported to be underway.

 

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