Page 10 - CH 2-2023 EN

NEWS
VME closes 2022 with increased turnover
The German furniture trade purchasing association Ein- richtungspartnerring VME was able to realise a centrally regulated turnover of 1.76 billion euros last year. This cor- responds to an increase of 10.3 percent compared to the previous year.
“This extraordinary result is certainly more due to a strong first half of the year in terms of turnover, but in the second half of the year our members were still able to hold their own in a politically and economically diffi- cult situation according to the circumstances,” says Chief Executive Frank Stratmann. “This year we are grappling again to inspire customers with interesting assortments, to draw attention to the homes of our member companies and, last but not least, to increase their footfall.”
In 2023, the purchasing group wants to focus on compre- hensive digitalisation projects. In addition, the VME wants
to focus on target group-oriented brands such as Interliv- ing and Trendhopper, innovative concepts and 360° com- munication to support the approximately 200 member companies.
New management team for Lars Larsen Group Retail
Lars Larsen Group, which includes the Jysk home fur- nishings chain, is setting up a new business unit. From 1 September 2023, five individuals with over 100 years of combined experience within JYSK retail will be man- aging and running the new business area Lars Larsen Group Retail (LLGR) under Lars Larsen Group. The cur- rent President and CEO of Jysk, Jan Bøgh, will double as of President and CEO of LLGR, flanked by Executive Board members. They will be joined by Niels Veien (Ex- ecutive Vice President for Customer Experience, Digital
& Business Development at Jysk), Henrik Naundrup (Ex- ecutive Vice President for Finance and IT at Jysk), Peter Andsager (Executive Vice President for Purchasing at Jysk) and Jacob Krogh Andersen (Head of Business De- velopment at Jysk).
Lars Larsen Group Retail is one of two divisions compris- ing the Danish corporation’s new business structure. The new division includes the subsidiaries Jysk, Ilva, Third. space, Bolia.com, Sofacompany, Senge Specialisten and Sengetid. The new management team will be responsible for growing the retail companies, creating more cross- functional synergies while respecting their business dif- ferences, and will be working on further acquisitions of retail companies. „Retail is in many ways the backbone of Lars Larsen Group. The new Group structure, with Lars Larsen Group Retail and Lars Larsen Group Invest- ments as underlying business units, will ready us for the next step in our strategy of long-term growth and creat- ing value for the communities we are part of,“ says Jes- per Lund, President and CEO of Lars Larsen Group.
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VME management from left: Peter Wülfing (Purchasing), Frank Stratmann (General Manager) and Jens Westerwelle (Purchasing).
PHOTO: LARS LARSEN GROUP
PHOTO: VME