Amart acquires Freedom Furniture to create $1 billion retail powerhouse

Amart Furniture has purchased Freedom Furniture resulting in a furniture retailing giant with close to $1 billion in sales and over $100 million in annual earnings.

The newly formed group will operate 126 stores across both countries and employ approximately 2,200 staff. Amart and Freedom will continue to trade as standalone brands.

Amart, founded in 1970 by John Van Leisout, is owned by Quadrant Private Equity and currently operates 66 stores nationwide. Freedom, established in 1981, has 60 stores across Australia and New Zealand. The business was sold by Greenlit Brands — formerly part of Steinhoff International Holdings — after a sale process led by investment bank Jarden. With this transaction, Greenlit Brands has now divested all but one of its retail assets, retaining Fantastic Furniture after selling Plush and Snooze in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Lee Chadwick, Amart’s CEO for more than a decade, will lead the new group. He said that the two brands offer distinct propositions, and both have plans to grow their respective store networks with Freedom targeting over 80 stores and Amart around 100.

“Our intent is to keep these businesses completely separate. The magic is in the backend. We think the growth opportunity is huge,” Chadwick said.

Blaine Callard, Freedom’s CEO who joined the retailer in 2019, will continue to run the business. Mr Callard spent the previous 24 years with Harvey Norman in senior roles and one of his chief achievements was to lead the turnaround of the stores in Ireland. He had a similar remit when joining Freedom and said, “Freedom’s journey of transformation and brand renewal has delivered significant momentum thanks to our team and loyal customers.”

Both Amart and Freedom compete with listed groups, such as Harvey Norman and Nick Scali While a future IPO of the combined group is possible, Chadwick said Quadrant is not “rushing for the door.”

Chris Hadley, Quadrant’s Chairman, said the combining of the two brands makes both strategic and commercial sense, “Freedom is an iconic brand across Australia and New Zealand. The combination with Amart will enhance the product range we can offer customers.”

Both retailers are highly profitable, with Amart targeting $90 million of earnings on $600 million of sales, and Freedom targeting $20 million earning on $410 million of sales in FY25.