L Catterton, a global consumer-focused investment firm, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to make a strategic investment in Seki Furniture, a comprehensive furniture company headquartered in Japan.
The transaction positions Seki Furniture for further growth in the country’s robust furniture market by leveraging L Catterton’s operating capabilities in the consumer industry.
Japan’s overall furniture market has been steadily expanding and is expected to remain on its stable growth trajectory due to several long-term secular trends. These include continued urbanization, an uptick in household formation, and evolving lifestyles, underpinning purchases of residential furniture. Diversifying workplace needs and further investments in the office and hospitality sector, including hotels and restaurants, are also supporting purchases of commercial furniture.
Having an experienced in-house design team, an extensive and diverse network of suppliers and manufacturers, as well as economies of scale, Seki Furniture offers a variety of stylish and high-quality furniture which resonates with both consumers and corporate clients. Its brands, notably RELAXFORM, therefore enjoy best-in-class customer ratings across key purchase considerations such as products’ look and feel, material quality, and price.
As a result, Seki Furniture now has the largest share of Japan’s wholesale residential furniture market and also sells directly to consumers via 26 stores of its own, such as CRASH GATE, as well as its own and third-party e-commerce platforms. Its commercial furniture business has been growing as well, with a broadening base of clients purchasing its products for use in offices, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, and other corporate properties.
Taka Shimizu, a Partner at L Catterton, said: “Seki Furniture has grown over the past 57 years under the steady leadership of its founding Seki Family, as well as its chief executive officer Hideki Haruta, a 27‑year company veteran. They have built a solid enterprise that has thrived across several macroeconomic cycles, and strategically and successfully expanded into multiple product and customer segments. We are honored to be part of Seki Furniture’s next chapter of growth and look forward to working closely to create value.”
Mr Haruta added: “We are delighted to welcome L Catterton, a firm with a strong global track record of investments in the consumer industry, as our partner. Going forward, we will work together with L Catterton to achieve further medium- to long-term growth and enhance our corporate value, while continuing to provide our customers with services and products that deliver lasting value.”
L Catterton has significant experience building home fixture and furnishing brands such as Restoration Hardware, a California-headquartered designer and retailer of premium home furnishing goods, with which the firm partnered to drive portfolio expansion and operational enhancements over a span of five years, and Boll & Branch, a leading designer and retailer of home goods that are rooted in high-quality, sustainably-sourced materials.
