Dive Brief:
- Luxury furniture retailer RH has acquired two trade-based furniture companies: custom upholstery business Dmitriy & Co. and custom furniture company Jeup, Inc. The company has created two new businesses, RH Bespoke Furniture and RH Couture Upholstery, in conjunction with the acquisitions, according to a company press release.
- Dmitriy founders Donna and David Feldman, and Jeup owner Joseph Jeup, will join RH. A company spokesperson declined to specify what roles they would hold.
- Margaret Russell, a former Architectural Digest editor, will also join the company to lead RH Media, a new editorial content platform that highlights design innovation and influencers.
Dive Insight:
Dmitriy & Co., a New York City-based trade-only custom upholstery atelier, and Jeup, a Michigan-based trade-only custom furniture atelier, are now part of California-based luxury furniture retailer RH.
Founded in 2011, Dmitriy & Co. says its history of producing bespoke furnishings began in New York’s Lower East Side about 30 years ago. Jeup was founded in 1997. Leadership from both companies will stay on at RH.
In addition, Russell, a former editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest and Elle Decor, is also joining the company. Russell, who led the editorial team there for six years, will now head up RH Media. RH described that new initiative as “an editorial-content platform that will celebrate the most innovative and influential people and ideas that are shaping the world of architecture and design.”
Gary Friedman, RH’s chairman and CEO, said in the announcement Thursday the acquisitions and new hires “firmly plant four RH flags at the very top of the luxury mountain, and clearly state our intention of establishing RH as an arbiter of taste and design in the To-the-Trade, luxury home furnishings market.”
The company's press release did not disclose the financial terms of the Dmitriy and Jeup deals. Reached by email, a company spokesperson declined to comment beyond the press release.
“These brands and businesses, thoughtfully integrated and amplified on what we believe will be the world’s most innovative and dynamic global design platform, will begin to fundamentally change the landscape of the interior design industry,” Friedman said.
In RH’s third quarter earnings announcement, the company, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, reported “better-than-expected results” with net revenues of $869 million versus $1 billion last year.
The company also reported generating $102 million of adjusted free cash flow in Q3. The company ended the quarter with $2.15 billion in cash on its balance sheet, total net debt of $375 million and adjusted EBITDA of $1 billion for the trailing 12 months.
Friedman also said RH’s financial performance included investments tied to the launch of RH Contemporary, the opening of the first ever RH Guesthouse hotel, the development of RH International and the rollout of RH In-Your-Home. The In-Your-Home initiative extends RH into the delivery experience at customers’ homes.
