Bespoke interior design taking off on a growth adventure
When a business grows rapidly over a short period of time, it not only leads to increased revenue, new hires, and success – it also means the business suddenly needs to acquaint itself with new rules, laws, and regulations. This was the scenario facing the successful design brand ferm LIVING when they started their collaboration with Deloitte.
Ferm Living is a Danish design company that sells furniture and interior design products with a focus on creating a responsible and sustainable future.
Over the last few years, ferm LIVING has been on an exciting growth journey. Back in 2020, ferm LIVING was in the process of being acquired by Maj Invest. During this period, ferm LIVING doubled their turnover from DKK 200 to 400 million (approx. 27 million Euro to 54 million). They expanded their business markedly: to a position, today, where their products are sold in more than 85 countries. Amidst this expansion, the traffic on ferm LIVING’s website grew by more than 80 per cent.
A doubling of turnover created complexity in the business
Perhaps unsurprisingly, increased revenue amid a period of success led to more complexity in the business – as growth took off, the scope of transactions, the hiring of new people, and the production of goods all exploded, increasing complexity significantly.
As their growth led to expansion into new markets, compliance also had to ensure alignment with what were oftentimes new laws and regulations. It was at this point that Deloitte became a part of ferm LIVING’s journey.
“We chose Deloitte as our advisors due to their extensive knowledge of the consumer industry. Furthermore, we knew that the specialised private equity team at Deloitte is providing valuable assistance to numerous private equity backed businesses through both audit and other advisory services. This confirmed their expertise within the field. The Deloitte team were very professional and really had our back during various challenges – and they made partnering with them feel natural and comfortable,”
Poul Erichsen, Chief Financial Officer at ferm Living.
Taking the finance department to the next level
As ferm LIVING expanded, CFO Poul Erichsen and the wider finance department have faced a number of challenges and obstacles: reorganisation, growth, a new legal structure, and other changes. In this process, Poul has used Deloitte as an advisor on everything from tax, VAT, charges, and transfer pricing to ongoing advisory support regarding the implementation of a new ERP system.
Poul has also been a part of Deloitte’s CFO 360 Programme, which is a professional and personal development programme offered to CFOs in private equity backed companies:
“The programme has given me a good network with other CFOs in private equity backed companies, which also has led to connections with CFOs within the consumer industry.”
Deloitte has also helped with the preparation of a roadmap for the finance strategy, including initiatives within finance to help Poul and his team prioritise and streamline the finance function. It has been hugely rewarding to support ferm LIVING throughout their growth journey.