2019 Financial Report: Häfele increases revenue by 7.6 percent | Growth particularly evident abroad

A focus on lighting and logistics expertise

Active in 150 countries throughout the world, the international Häfele Group for hardware technology, electronic access control systems and LED lighting, saw its revenue grow by 7.6% to 1.5 billion Euro in the previous year. In view of the tense nature of the economic situation, Häfele’s company management considers this result a great success.

The parent company in Germany and its five production companies recorded growth of 3.3%. The sales companies grew by 8.8% in 2019. Asia and Eastern Europe posted particularly strong rates of growth. The formation of Häfele Adriatic sees the Group continue to push forward with its program of internationalization. The Häfele Group now has some 38 one hundred percent-owned subsidiaries worldwide. It generates 80% of its revenues outside of Germany.

In 2019, the company’s worldwide employee count increased by 300 to reach 8,100. In Germany, the number of employees, trainees and students rose to 1,650 (up 50 from 2018). This increase can be primarily attributed to the acquisition made in February 2019 of Nimbus, the Stuttgart-based LED lighting specialist. With Nimbus, Häfele has expanded its expertise in this area by adding room lighting to the product segment formerly known as “LED light in furniture.” With this move, Häfele has also radically developed beyond its traditional world of classic hardware fittings for doors and interiors. The hardware technology specialist has already become something of an industry pioneer when it comes to the growth market for Smart Home ideas and products.

Häfele supplies the world’s leading furniture manufacturers, architects and planners as well as its joiner/cabinet maker partners and dealers. The company’s own products are manufactured in one of five production facilities and sold around the globe through one of its subsidiaries or one of their 1,500 business partners.

Outlook 2020: Restrained, Yet Optimistic

The Group is looking cautiously towards the new financial year, in view of the tremendous challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the positive start made in the first quarter of 2020, the company does not expect to see the net sales achieved in 2019 to be repeated this year.

“The coronavirus pandemic means we are now operating in crisis mode worldwide. So, we are reviewing our investment plans and everything that isn’t vitally important is going on the back-burner until the situation has returned to normal,” explains Managing Director Sibylle Thierer. “Nevertheless, we will still be pushing forward with many of the measures already initiated, including the continuous development of our own house assortments, the digitalization of the processes and our new target group-focussed distribution structures.”

In view of the current crisis, the Häfele Group has adopted additional measures to secure the supply chain — including after the crisis has ended — and to more closely interlink the Group’s companies. To this end, the business will compare global demand with its global inventories, so that it can strategically control our suppliers’ distribution of products, ensuring that the companies get the level of stock they need and optimize inventories worldwide.