Carl Hansen & Son continues its expansion with the takeover of the respected Danish furniture manufacturer, Søborg Møbler. With the acquisition of the design rights to Søborg Møbler’s collection and archive, Carl Hansen & Son manifests its aim to gather and preserve the most significant design icons under one roof. Leading designers such as Børge Mogensen and Knud Holscher are thus being added to the portfolio.
The furniture manufacturer Carl Hansen & Son presented record-breaking financial results earlier this year, and is once again expanding with the acquisition of Søborg Møbler, which has become an integrated part of the Carl Hansen & Son furniture group as of 1st September.
The acquisition of Søborg Møbler is expanding Carl Hansen & Son’s product portfolio, as well as add renowned designers such as Børge Mogensen – one of the major contributors to the Golden Age of Danish design – Knud Holscher, Flemming Hvidt, and Christian Hvidt to its growing circle of iconic masters.
Knud Erik Hansen, CEO of Carl Hansen & Son, says: “One of our main reasons for acquiring Søborg Møbler is precisely to guarantee the Danish design classics a long life – also outside of Denmark. Our vision is to gather and preserve some of the greatest design icons under one roof and to make use of our international distribution network and professional marketing platform in order to distribute them to a larger global market.”
According to Knud Erik Hansen, Søborg Møbler’s product portfolio is perfectly aligned with Carl Hansen & Son’s outstanding quality furniture collection.
“The acquisition of the almost 130-year-old company also includes the design rights to an interesting collection, which, among other things, contains the elegant Hunter’s Table by Børge Mogensen from 1950, his distinctive King of Diamonds Chair from 1944 as well as the illustrious designer’s Deck Chair Set," says Knud, emphasising that Søborg Møbler is recognised in the industry for its high quality and exquisite product portfolio, which, until now, has mainly been available in the Danish and Scandinavian markets.
Moving forward, Carl Hansen & Son, responsible for some of the greatest furniture classics in Danish design history, will work consciously to spread awareness of these elegant pieces of furniture. Just over 75% of the company’s production of designer furniture is sold on the export markets, and Carl Hansen & Son is experiencing a steadily increasing interest in the respected Danish designers around the world.
In order to strengthen its presence on the international market, Carl Hansen & Son is opening new flagship stores and showrooms all over the world, including a new showroom in New York that was unveiled earlier this year. The Danish furniture manufacturer has also strengthened the export market sales force, and will support the promotion of Danish design in the export markets through additional investments.
Knud says: “We feel a great responsibility for preserving the classic Danish designs and ensuring that they continue to be produced in Denmark. With our future-proof production facilities, Carl Hansen & Son is today one of Europe’s most modern furniture makers. This year alone, we’re investing just over 13.5 million EUR. in machinery and buildings. At the same time, we have some of the most highly-skilled cabinetmakers and craftsmen, which is a prerequisite for producing furniture of the highest quality.”
The acquisition of Søborg Møbler is a natural part of Carl Hansen & Son’s growth strategy, which, among other initiatives, will take place through continued acquisitions. In recent years, the company has acquired acclaimed Danish furniture manufacturers such as Rud. Rasmussens Snedkerier, P.J. Furniture, and Niels Roth Andersen.
Carl Hansen & Son’s continued expansion has broadened the palette of iconic designers in its portfolio. Until 2011, the Danish furniture manufacturer was almost exclusively known for its highquality furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner. “Today, we also manufacture furniture designed by Kaare Klint, Ole Wanscher, Frits Henningsen, Mogens Koch, Poul Kjærholm, Ejner Larsen & Aksel Bender Madsen and Mogens Lassen, and we’ve entered international partnerships with the Japanese architect Tadao Ando and the Austrian design trio EOOS, among others. Most recently, we’ve established partnerships with Danish designers such as Naja Utzon Popov and Anker Bak,” Knud concludes.
