Ekornes QM Holding Group – Operational update

05 Jan 2024 13:00 CET

Ekornes, the largest furniture producer in Norway and owner of the brand names
Ekornes®, Stressless®, Svane® and IMG, implements temporary capacity adjustment
to secure a long-term sustainable and profitable business.

Demand for household and furniture remains weakened as consumer finances are
constrained by higher interest rates and rising living expenses. Addressing the
challenging market conditions, Ekornes implemented several initiatives to reduce
costs and safeguard profitability through 2023.

The trend of weak demand continued in the fourth quarter 2023 with reduced order
intake for Stressless®, primarily in the Central-European markets. Promotions
during the seasonally strong-selling November and December periods stimulated
sales less than expected. Entering 2024, current order intake indicates a
continued weak market development, a trend expected to continue during the first
half of 2024.

Adapting to the situation, Ekornes will adjust operational capacity at the
Stressless facilities in Norway through temporary redundancies of up to 10% of
the 760 FTEs employed within production and assembly at the factories. The
Company today initiated negotiations with union representatives. In total,
Ekornes employs close to 2,700 FTEs worldwide.

“Ekornes continuously aligns its organisation and production capacity to
prevailing demand through the cycles, securing sustainable operations. The
initiative reflects a continued slow pace for the furniture industry, and it is
essential that we act to ensure resilience and long-term competitiveness for the
Group”, comments Tine Hammernes Leopold, CEO of Ekornes.

Although the demand for quality furniture is expected to return to normalized
levels in the longer term, the length and magnitude of the current downturn
remains uncertain. Ekornes has a flexible operating model and is continuously
evaluating measures to ensure profitable growth.

Ekornes QM Holding will release its financial results for the fourth quarter and
full year 2023 on 26 February 2024.

For more information, please contact:
Tine Hammernes Leopold, CEO Ekornes AS
e-mail: tine.hammernes.leopold@ekornes.com
Tel: +47 920 11 432

About Ekornes QM Holding Group
Ekornes QM Holding AS was founded 4 January 2018 with the purpose of acquiring
the Ekornes Group. In May 2018, an offer was made to purchase the shares of all
Ekornes shareholders. The share purchase was completed in August 2018 and the
Group was delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange in October 2018. Norwegian
ultimate parent company Ekornes QM Holding AS is a subsidiary of Qumei Home
Furnishings Group. Qumei Group owns 94,12% of the shares in Qumei Runto S.à.r.l
and Hillhouse investment owns 5,88% of the shares in Qumei Runto S.à.r.l.

Qumei Runto S.à.r.l. owns 100% of the shares in Ekornes QM Holding AS. The
Ekornes Group is the only operational part of the Ekornes QM Holding Group.
Ekornes is the largest furniture producer in Norway and owns the brand names
Ekornes®, Stressless®, Svane® and IMG. Stressless® is one of the world’s most
well-known furniture brands. Production takes place at the Group’s eight
factories, five of which are in Norway, one in the USA, one in Thailand and one
in Lithuania. Ekornes sells its products over large parts of the world, either
through its own sales companies or via importers.

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