Emerging Franchise Brands to Watch: BoConcept

Founded in Denmark in 1952, BoConcept* asserted its dominance as the principal upscale furniture retailer in Europe – offering high-end pieces at an affordable price. Now, the 65-year-old furniture manufacturer and retailer has established a global presence across 65 countries, with more than 300 locations and 4 million in-store visitors.

But of those 300 stores, less than 15 are on U.S. soil, lending itself to immense growth potential. The brand opened its first North American location in New Jersey in 2002 and has since developed in a number of major U.S. metro markets including Washington D.C., San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia.

In 2017, BoConcept launched a 5-year project to add as many as 40 additional stories to the United States. As part of this initiative, the company opened its global flagship store in New York City in January and is now committed to identifying key markets nationwide that have a demand for the affordable, modern furniture concept.

“We are excited to continue bringing the progressive Danish design that we have spent decades perfecting to new cities across the country,” said Steen Knigge, Director of U.S. Marketing for BoConcept. “As we grow, our goal will remain the same: to create elegant, sophisticated designs, customized for each of our customers’ unique needs.”

Coming off of two years of positive same-store sales, BoConcept's strategy is based in part on the migration of Americans back to cities. So far, they’ve found success in metropolitan cities with more liberal demographics, with upcoming openings in Connecticut, Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood and plans to add locations to San Diego, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Nashville, Texas and Minneapolis within the next three to five years.

Unlike many other furniture retailers, part of BoConcept’s U.S. success depends on finding strong franchise partners, which lends itself to rapid expansion with the right owners. The brand requires an initial investment of $500,000 with the option to open between one and five locations with a multi-unit agreement.

“Our primary focus is to find the right franchisees who have the economic means to open multiple locations in one of our key target markets,” said Knigge. “With established owners in place, the future is bright as we work to achieve our goal of becoming the unquestioned global leader in modern furniture.”

Aside from the growth of their physical retail locations, the company also aims to implement an e-commerce platform over the next two years. Currently, the brand is considering building a centralized warehouse that would enable nationwide shipping. With the brand’s 15 million annual website visitors, the possibilities for what e-commerce could do for BoConcept’s U.S. sales is immeasurable.

“We want to make sure our strategy is solidified before moving forward with our e-commerce platform,” said Knigge. “That said, we’re excited about what this opportunity means for our nationwide growth. Continued demand for our products is high and we’re always looking for ways to reach new customers. This would be a great solution for BoConcept as we look to grow our U.S. footprint.”