Continued consolidation of the Nordic building products market – Livingstone advisor when Golvpoolen is sold to Bygghemma

The leading Nordic online DIY retailer, Bygghemma acquires floor and bathroom retailer Golvpoolen, strengthening its position in floors and tile. The transaction is the last in a long line of acquisitions in the DIY segment during the last two years.

Golvpoolen, founded in 1990, started out as a floor retailer, but has since expanded its assortment. Today, Golvpoolen is the largest professional store for hardwood floors, tiles and bathroom interiors in Scandinavia, with a wide assortment of well-known brands. In addition to its Scandinavian webshop, Golvpoolen has four physical stores in southern Sweden with a broad client base among both DIY and professionals.

Bygghemma.se is the leading Nordic online retailer in DIY and building products. The company has expanded aggressively since the launch in 2006 and today, the group has 12 webshops and 9 physical stores in the Nordics, operated under various brand names. The group has around 500 employees in total at 10 offices in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, and a turnover of some SEK 3 billion in 2016.

“We have worked over a long period with Livingstone leading up to this deal. Golvpoolen has seen great value in the team’s experience from both the building products sector and ecommerce, which has been important in understanding our needs and opportunities,” says Christian Trolle, CEO at Golvpoolen.

Livingstone concludes, after closing our third transaction in the building products segment in less than 12 months, that the industry continues to consolidate and evolve. The buyer interest for profitable, specialised market players is driven by the industry-specific scale advantages in sourcing, inventory and logistics. Ecommerce is also increasingly important, a channel where size, marketing capacity and logistic networks are crucial success factors.

“Golvpoolen and Bygghemma will form a very strong player in the floor and tile segment, that will have extensive advantages thanks to its size and market breadth. We are convinced that Bygghemma’s platform and expertise in online retail will contribute to a bright future for Golvpoolen,” says Thomas Karlsson, Partner at Livingstone.