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Local France
4 days ago
- Business
- Local France
Not just Ikea: where you can buy furniture in France
Although Ikea does of course exist in France if you like flat-pack furniture and a cheeky cinnamon bun, there are other options for you to peruse. Maisons du Monde French-owned furniture store Maisons du Monde is a decent option, if you're looking for solid, non-flatpack furniture in a range of different designs. It offers vintage, exotic, classic chic, seaside, modern, country, and industrial styles for whatever type of look you're going for. Be aware that not all products on their website are sold by Maisons du Monde itself and different providers offer different quality. Look for the Maisons du Monde brand to ensure the quality. La Redoute The one-time mail-order homewear catalogue company has transformed over the decades into one of France's leading and well-respected furniture brands. It promises a range of stylish and well-put-together furniture at a price that's not out of reach for many people. And it does clothing, too. Advertisement AM/PM Look out, too, for AM/PM furniture stores, which has stores in major cities across the country and is owned by La Redoute. Think stylish and contemporary. But also premium – it's a touch more expensive than its parent business. Roche Bobois For high-end furniture, this luxury Paris-based store is for you. It works with well-known designers and cultural icons (it recently collaborated with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar) and has a very distinct and sophisticated style. A go-to for anyone looking for something a bit special, and with the funds to pay for it. Alinea Founded in Avignon in 1989, and committed to sustainable and responsible home decoration, Alinea draws its inspiration from the landscapes of its southern birthplace. So, expect things to be a bit more relaxed in style. Habitat From 1960s London to 21st-century France, via liquidation and rebirth. In March this year, a boutique reopened in Paris. By the end of 2025, Habitat will offer its products on the shelves of several 'partner' stores as part of a slow relaunch. It has an online presence, now, so you could Conran your crib from anywhere in France, if you so desire. Conforama This is probably the French equivalent of Ikea, selling mostly flat-pack furniture but also things like sofas and electrical items for a reasonable price. It represents 16 percent of the French market (just behind Ikea on 19 percent and ahead of But on 13 percent) and has stores in most French towns. It offers a delivery service and some stores will also hire out their own vans, at a discount price, between the hours of 12 and 2pm (when drivers are taking their lunch break), so you can take larger items home. But Very similar to Conforama is But which also has a presence in most French towns, usually on the large trading estates on the outskirts. It too sells mostly flatpack furniture at reasonable prices. Advertisement Ikea We know that this article is about alternatives to Ikea, but it does exist as a furniture option in France and offers a good range of affordable furniture and household items. In larger cities the brand is rolling out city centre stores - these allow you to browse all the items, sit on the sofas, test out the desk chairs etc, but they don't actually have a huge warehouse of beds, sofas etc. Instead you pick what you want and then order it online for delivery. The stores themselves still have smaller items to buy though, such as mirrors, picture frames, kitchen utensils and of course 100-pack bags of small candles. The bigger Ikea stores on the outskirts of town allow you to buy large items to take home in your car, although they too have a delivery option. Advertisement JYSK JYSK is similar to Ikea in terms of affordability and Scandinavian roots, so expect lots of natural wood and neutral tones. It has a few dozen stores in France, mostly in the northern half of the country, but it is expanding into the south. You can find clean and unfussy furniture here to fill every room of the house from the bedroom and the dining room to the lounge and even the home office. Kave Home Kave Home is a Spanish company with stores in France. The style is generally Mediterranean with a touch of Nordic and mostly solid wood products. They sell everything from sofas and chairs to dining tables, beds, lighting and home decor. Leroy Merlin Leroy Merlin is better known for home improvements, selling everything from tools and lighting to wall paint and tiles – but they do sell no-fuss mostly bedroom, office and outdoor furniture. You won't find most of the furniture in store, however so will have to rely on online photos and reviews. Check out, too, other DIY outlets like Mr Bricolage. There will be one on the outskirts of most reasonably sized towns. Advertisement Selection M An online store that sells everything from dishware to antique furniture. It's not cheap, but if you have the money and a thing for what those in the know term 'slow deco', and what everyone else might call 'timeless', this might be the place for you. White goods Furniture stores such as Conforama and But also sell the usual array of household electricals and white goods, like fridges, freezers and cookers. You could also seek out a Boulanger store, or a Darty. Or a fnac, or a CDiscount. All have online stores, and deliver. Products bought from any one of these will have the advantage, too, of coming with the right plug for your French home. Local furniture stores The furniture stores listed above may offer good choices and have websites that you can easily browse for products, but don't underestimate the possibility of finding what you need from local magasins de meubles (furniture stores) – which range from the monstrous BHV Marais in Paris to a family owned store in a small town. Many cities in France have furniture warehouses on the outskirts, so it's worth seeking them out. For white goods, watch out for discount outlets, sometimes called 'entrepots'. Second-hand furniture The pre-loved furniture market is very much a thing in France – just ask the people behind Selection M. But you could find bargains aplenty online, by looking at well-known classifieds website leboncoin , for example. But also consider looking out your nearest Emmaus store, where donated goods are sold for charity, or any one of the 'troc' outlets. Then there's brocantes , which sell second-hand/vintage/antique items. There are some brocante stores but also regular market-style events in towns and cities across France that offer a huge range of items from real junk to genuine bargains on old furniture. Vide grenier are more like car-boot sales/yard sales are tend to offer smaller items and not much furniture, but you may also see signs locally for a vide maison or house clearance, which may have some bargains. READ ALSO : Vide grenier and brocante: The written and unwritten rules of France's second-hand sales✎
The National
16-07-2025
- Business
- The National
ScotRail slammed for plans to outsource complaints team to French firm
The train operator is reportedly set to outsource its complaints team to French-owned Teleperformance, according to the Daily Record. Passengers looking for a refund for a late or cancelled service must speak with a call centre in Glasgow which is run separately from the railway. The customer services team, which handles complaints and personal injury claims, was previously operated by Dutch transport giant Abellio under a contract agreed before Scottish ministers took charge of ScotRail in 2022. But it is set to be run by Teleperformance going forward after a deal was announced to employees last week. READ MORE: Richard Murphy in huge spat with BBC presenter over 'pro-Union bias' The company runs call centres in 34 countries and has previously been accused of using "union busting" tactics against workers. Simon Barrow, national secretary of the SNP Trade Union Group, said outsourcing the complaints team to Teleperformance would be a "bad move" as he pushed for an end to "private profiteering". He told The National: 'ScotRail's current intention to switch to a new French-owned outsource contractor for its complaints service is a really bad move at a time when building confidence in publicly owned services, and making them genuinely public, is vital. 'But this is only part of the problem. A significant portion of the maintenance and operation of ScotRail stations and depots is already outsourced, and a facilities management services review may well push further in this direction. 'What Scotland needs instead is a reliable, high quality public service that brings jobs and opportunities to Scotland by ending private profiteering. 'As with opposing ticket office closures, which are a serious disservice to customers and staff alike, we will be supporting the campaigns of our rail union colleagues to bring back real public control and benefit in Scotland's rail network.' READ MORE: Keir Starmer fails to rule out bringing in tax on pension contributions ScotRail has said no contracts have been awarded and the company said it would not comment while it is in the "final stages" of a competitive procurement process. Gordon Martin, the RMT union's Scottish organiser, said: "We oppose all outsourcing on the railway and want to see all rail workers insourced in Scotland. "Our insourcing campaign will continue across Britain until we achieve justice for all our outsourced members." An insider told the Record "most people don't know" the customer experience operation is still outsourced despite the train operator having been brought under public control. "We expected, rightly, that a nationalised railway would bring us in-house," they said. A ScotRail spokesperson said: "No contracts have been awarded. We are in the final stages of a competitive procurement exercise for our customer contact centre services, and wouldn't comment on this process while it is live and ongoing."
Daily Record
16-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
ScotRail outsources complaints team to French firm despite being publicly owned by SNP Government
EXCLUSIVE: Employees at ScotRail's customer services team have claimed they are being treated like "second-class rail staff". ScotRail is set to outsource its complaints team to a French-owned conglomerate despite the train operator being brought back under public control. Passengers chasing a refund for a late or cancelled service must speak with a call centre in Glasgow which is run separately from the railway. The customer services team, which handles complaints and personal injury claims, was previously operated by Dutch transport giant Abellio under a contract agreed before SNP ministers took charge of ScotRail in 2022. But it will be run by Teleperformance going forward after a deal was announced to employees last week. The multinational firm runs call centres in 34 countries and has previously been accused of using "union busting" tactics against workers. Employees at the ScotRail customer services team have now claimed they are being treated as "second-class rail staff". An insider told the Record: "Despite ScotRail being publicly owned since 2022, its entire Customer Experience operation, the call centre that handles refunds, complaints, personal injury claims, and vulnerable passenger issues, is still outsourced. "Worse, we've just been told that this vital function is now being handed to Teleperformance. It's a cost-cutting move that puts quality of service, staff welfare, and the principle of nationalisation itself in jeopardy. "This operation has been running from Glasgow under Abellio since 2015, then continued under Transport UK Group through its subsidiary Solvd. Most people don't even know this is still outsourced. "We expected, rightly, that a nationalised railway would bring us in-house. Instead, we've lost travel perks, been treated as second-class rail staff, and are now being dumped into a high-turnover, high-pressure private firm with no railway experience. "Make no mistake, this affects millions of ScotRail passengers and dozens of experienced Glasgow-based staff who are passionate about rail and proud of the work we do. The Scottish Government has outsourced ScotRail's voice, and no one's talking about it." The Record understands ScotRail's pay roll services are also outsourced to a third party provider. Gordon Martin, the RMT union's Scottish organiser, said: "We oppose all outsourcing on the railway and want to see all rail workers insourced in Scotland. "ScotRail is under the control of the Scottish Government so we would expect these workers who provide essential payroll services, to be directly employed by the company, under a collective bargaining agreement like all the other staff. Our insourcing campaign will continue across Britain until we achieve justice for all our outsourced members." Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labour Net Zero spokesperson, said "The SNP has failed to deliver on the promises of public ownership and ScotRail workers and passengers are paying the price. "On the SNP's watch, ScotRail services are plagued by cancellations and delays and workers' contracts are being handed off to private companies. "The SNP cannot dodge responsibility for the treatment of these workers - Ministers must ensure all ScotRail workers have the fair and decent terms and conditions we would expect." A ScotRail spokesman said: "No contracts have been awarded. We are in the final stages of a competitive procurement exercise for our customer contact centre services, and wouldn't comment on this process while it is live and ongoing." The Record asked Teleperformance for comment.
Sydney Morning Herald
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Find the sweet spot this weekend at these 10 top cake shops and hole-in-the-wall bakeries
Sweet dreams and insulin spikes are made of these. A pastry arms race kicked off five-ish years ago, and it continues to rage in the proving trays of Melbourne's best bakeries. Recently, however, it's the sweet developments in the no-dough venues that have blown the category wide open (see: ice imported from Japan, shaved to order and topped with the likes of rare cheese and berry compote). This list is part of Good Food's Essential Melbourne Cafes and Bakeries of 2025. Presented by T2, the guide celebrates the people and places that shape our excellent cafe and bakery scenes and includes more than 100 venues reviewed anonymously across 10 categories, including icons, those best for food, tea, coffee and matcha, and where to get the city's best sandwiches and baked goods. (These reviews also live on the Good Food app, and are discoverable on the map.). Amann Patisserie This French-owned hole-in-the-wall patisserie has injected new life into Nicholson Street, with a constant but quick-moving queue of those in the know. Since it opened in 2024, its small but expertly executed selection of mostly sweet, buttery treats – along with creative cold brews – has only gained traction. Maple-bacon Danish, almond croissant or kouign-amann? It's difficult to choose, so don't. Make a beeline early and load up with everything.
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sodexo's Irish arm records pre-tax profit increase of 44pc
Sodexo provides on-site services to clients in business, industry, education, financial, pharma, healthcare and government services. Stock image Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of services firm Sodexo, which counts the Central Bank as one of its clients, last year increased by 44pc to €4.94m. New accounts filed by the French-owned Sodexo Ireland show the company increased profits as revenues rose by 9pc from €141.4m to €154.7m in the 12 months to the end of August last. Numbers employed by the business last year increased by 127 from 2,205 to 2,332 as staff costs increased by just under 10pc from €74.22m to €81.52m. The principal activities of Sodexo Ireland is the provision of a wide range of on-site support services to both private and public sector organisations in business, industry, education, pharma and healthcare. These include food services, infrastructure, facilities and estate management and optimising the workplace experience. The company recorded an after-tax profit of €4.16m after incurring a corporation tax charge of €778,000. The company paid out a dividend of €2.9m last November. Sodexo Ireland MD David Fox said: 'We have experienced a very positive few years in Ireland, driven by a combination of strong new business wins and key client retentions across both the public and private sectors. 'We continue to see good momentum this year, with organisations increasingly recognising the value of high-quality workplace food and facilities services to support employee experience and operational efficiency. 'Our industry, like others, has challenges such as cost inflation and talent attraction, but our focus every day is on delivering great service to our clients and supporting our people to thrive.' Quarterly purchase orders published by the Central Bank show that it paid out €2.76m, including Vat, to Sodexo Ireland in 2024. On future developments, the Sodexo directors state that 'the stability of the current portfolio enhances the capacity of the company to further grow the business by acquiring new contracts during the next financial year'. The profit last year takes account of €853,000 in non-cash depreciation and non-cash amortisation costs of €126,000. The firm had accumulated profits of €17.55m. Cash funds decreased from €15.09m to €11.83m. Shareholder funds totalled €14.04m. Sodexo Group operates in 45 countries, employing over 423,000. Led by CEO Sophie Bellon, the group recorded revenues of €23.79bn and operating profits of €1bn last year.
