Fantastic Furniture is an Australian owned and operated furniture retailer. It is a subsidiary of Greenlit Brands.
 Fantastic Furniture store in Beckenham | |
| ASX: FAN | |
| Industry | Manufacturing and Retailing |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Number of locations | 86[1] (2023) |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Kieron Ritchard (CEO) |
| Products | Household furniture |
Number of employees | 1,000+ (2019) |
| Parent | Greenlit Brands |
| Website | fantasticfurniture |
History
editFantastic Furniture started as a market stall at Sydney's Parklea Markets in 1989, by friends Paul Harding and Jonathan De Jong, selling outdoor furniture. Two years later, the first Fantastic Furniture public store opened at Birkenhead Point.[2]
In 1992, the Fantastic Lounge Factory opened and started production of Australian made sofas and lounges for Fantastic Furniture.[3] Today, the Sydney-based factory is the largest manufacturer of sofas in the Southern Hemisphere[4] and produce and deliver over 130,000 sofas and lounges each year.
In the following years, the business could not keep up with the demand and in 1996 it went into administration. The business was subsequently acquired by Peter Brennan, Peter Draper and Julian Tertini and underwent a restructure.[4] Over the next few years a number of Fantastic Furniture stores opened across NSW. [5]
In 2006, Fantastic Furniture acquired Royal Comfort Bedding (RCB),[5] a NSW mattress manufacturer, to produce its mattress range in Australia.[3]
Today, Fantastic Furniture is a national chain with over 70 stores around the country.[6] In August 2017, Fantastic Furniture partnered with CB2 x Fred Segal.[7] In 2016, it was included in the takeover of Furniture Holdings by Steinhoff International and delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange.[8][9]
Controversies
editIn September 2015 it was reported that a dining chair sold by Fantastic Furniture had cut off an individual's toe after being caught in the inner side of one of the chair legs.[10] In January 2016 Fantastic Furniture was forced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to recall the chair.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Find your local Fantastic Furniture store | Fantastic Furniture".
- ^ "Company Story". Custom Made Media Australia. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ a b "About Us". Fantastic Furniture. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ a b The Fantastic Trust Story. Vanessa Hall. October 2011. ISBN 9781937110215. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ a b "About FHL". Fantastic Holdings. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
- ^ "Survey Reveals Housework Wars Behind Closed Doors". Femail. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ "CB2 x Fred Segal Debut New Fantastic Furniture Collaboration Today". The Manual. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ Steinhoff to acquire Australia's Fantastic Holdings for $274 million Reuters 17 October 2016
- ^ Fantastic Holdings Limited: Removal from Official list Australian Securities Exchange 21 December 2016
- ^ Rolfe, John (24 September 2015). "Unhappy furniture owner wants compensation after chair cuts off his toe". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
The middle toe of his left foot got trapped in the inner side one of the legs and, as he fell, the sharp metal edge sliced it off.
- ^ Toscano, Nick (13 January 2016). "Fantastic Furniture forced to recall 'toe-slicing' chairs". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
tapering on the inside bottom of the chair legs may lead to an entrapment or laceration hazard