GENERAL MERCHANDISE NEWS
Habitat may be sold
12 August, 2002 | by Retail Bulletin
Ikea boss tells of US interest
August 11 2002
Furniture retailer Habitat may be sold by owner Ikea, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Ingvar Kamprad, founder of the Swedish retail giant, told the FT that the purchase of Habitat ten years ago had been a failure.
He said a sale was an option being considered, and said there had been interest from a large US chain.
Kamprad said the group had lost money on Habitat, which operates in te Uk and France, as well as under franchises eleswhere in Europe. The chain was founded by Terence Conran and was later part of the Storehouse empire. Ironically, its once-unassailable position as the arbiter of taste for young people setting up home has been largely supplanted by Ikea itself.
