French furniture and home decor company Maisons du Monde has reported a growth in fourth quarter sales but a slight decline in full year revenues, while also confirming the appointment of François-Melchior de Polignac as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
According to its latest trading update, Q4 sales were up 2.3% to €389m, while full year revenues resulted €1.3bn, down 1.2% from €1.2bn. Online sales suffered a 15.5% decline to €359.6m as instore sales fell 0.1% to €880.9m.
As for its product groups, full year furniture sales dropped 7.1% to €502.1m, while decoration sales declined 3.6% to €738.3m. Q4 furniture sales totalled €111m, down -2%, of which 45% online. Armchairs, sofas, bookcases and shelves, were among best-sellers.
Maisons du Monde also confirmed the appointment of François-Melchior de Polignac as its new CEO as of 15 March 2023, who will succeed Julie Walbaum. François-Melchior has now joined the business as Deputy CEO in order to ensure a smooth and efficient transition during this period.
Thierry Falque-Pierrotin, Chairman of the Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome François-Melchior, who brings vast experience in European Retail and organizational transformation, with 22 years in several Executive Director positions at Carrefour Group. His strong customer-centric and operational excellence mindset will enable the company to pursue its journey of solid and lasting value creation.
“I wish to thank Julie for her role and significant contribution to the development of Maisons du Monde since 2014 as Digital & Customer Marketing Executive Director and since 2018 as CEO. Under her leadership, Maisons du Monde embarked on a major transformation towards a more robust and agile organisation and became a recognized leader in Digital and Corporate Social Responsibility. François-Melchior and Julie will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition. I wish them both every success in this new chapter.”
Julie Walbaum, CEO, commented: “I have been thrilled and incredibly proud to be at the helm of Maisons du Monde over these five memorable years. Together, we shaped an ambitious vision, fostered a vibrant culture of responsible and balanced growth and made remarkable progress on our transformation journey towards making Maisons du Monde an industry leading, digital first and sustainable company. I warmly thank our exceptional teams and wish François-Melchior and Maisons du Monde a brilliant future.”
François-Melchior de Polignac, Deputy CEO, added: “I am very excited to join and very soon to lead the company. Maisons du Monde has considerable assets and numerous opportunities to reinforce its leadership in the inspirational and affordable home & living sector. I am looking forward to bringing customer experience to the next level and to continuing the transformation towards a higher-performing organisation.”
