Furniture maker Steinhoff eyes small retailer acquisitions in Romania

Furniture and household goods manufacturer and retailer Steinhoff is looking to expand into Eastern Europe, with eyes on acquiring small retailers in Romania and Turkey, in the wake of a EUR 1.5 billion initial public offering. Steinhoff's planned IPO should help cover debt and fuel the international expansion, to Eastern Europe and Africa, according to Bloomberg. The company hopes to sell 25 percent of the estimated value of its European business. The listing will be in London, Paris or Frankfurt. Steinhoff runs retail units under the brands Harveys, Cargo, Red, Benson & Beds and the Sleepmasters in UK, and Handers & Hazel in continental Europe, among others. Steinhoff bought Conforama last year for EUR 1.21 billion, becoming the second-largest household goods retailer in Europe, after Swedish Ikea. The deal brought Steinhoff to a point where nothing of significant size remained to be bought in Europe, according to CEO Markus Jooste. The Romanian furniture market is dominated by several local and international players. Swedish Ikea shares the market with Romanian Mobexpert, Austrian Kika, Rovere Mobili, Elvila, and Bene, among others. Several local companies, such as Mobexpert, Lemet, Casa Rusu are also producing furniture in the country. Steinhoff was founded in 1964 in Germany as a trading company that sourced products in Eastern Europe and sold them in the developed markets of Western Europe. Corina Saceanu, corina@romania-insider.com