A Danish design furniture retailer has gone bankrupt following years of financial losses and a failed growth strategy. The company, which focused on selling Danish furniture in Japan, struggled with declining profitability and the impact of a weak Japanese yen on its margins.
Photo: Dreamstime.
Scandinavian Living Company, owned by Henrik Kohberg, had once expanded to include a store in Tokyo and employed up to 19 people at its peak. However, recent years saw mounting losses, with a deficit of DKK 3.6 million in 2023, following a DKK 1.6 million loss in 2022. Gross profit also declined from DKK 4.1 million in 2022 to DKK 2.6 million in 2023.
Kohberg attributed the company's collapse to a failed growth strategy and the loss of its largest supplier on 31 January, which he described as 'the nail in the coffin'. The termination of this key partnership left the business without a viable foundation.
Having purchased the company—then called Japan Denmark Trade Centre A/S—in 1994, Kohberg had ambitious plans to expand to 300 stores by 2029. However, with the business now shuttered, he and his family are returning to Denmark after living in Japan for over five years.
Source: www.wood-supply.dk