Message from our CEO
01 Message from our CEO
Rolf Verspuij
Looking back on 2025, Royal Ahrend showed resilience in a challenging market. It was a year of contrast; we made important progress on our strategic priorities that will shape our company for the years ahead, while our financial performance did not yet reflect the progress we made across the business. What stands out most to me is the commitment of our colleagues, who continued to support our customers and drive the execution of our strategy throughout the year.
The market remained challenging as global geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty and changing office environment due to trends like hybrid working, digitalisation and sustainability all influenced the environment in which we operate. At the same time, 2025 was an important year of implementation and change for Royal Ahrend. We continued to invest significant time, focus and resources in strengthening our organisation, systems, commercial network and circular capabilities.
By staying close to our customers and responding to changing needs through innovation and sustainable solutions and services, Royal Ahrend has continued to adapt in order to remain relevant.
Accelerating the circular transition
Accelerating the circular transition
In 2025, we have continued to advocate for acceleration of the circular transition, while also making concrete investments to support that ambition. An important step in this was the further expansion of our Circular Hub in Veghel, enabling us to scale up refurbishment activities and broaden our circular services. We also created a Circular Inspiration Centre for customers, creating a hub where we can inspire and support organisations in making more sustainable choices for their working environments.
We strongly believe in accelerating the circular transition and have therefore sought to engage stakeholders at many different levels. In spring 2025, we joined the NVCE, to stimulate collaboration and knowledge-sharing in this important field. We also made further progress in embedding sustainability into our long-term plans, with the validation of our SBTi targets. One of the highlights of the past year was our presence during the state visit of the Dutch royal couple to Prague in June 2025: a very special moment and a recognition of the role Royal Ahrend plays in representing Dutch design, innovation and sustainability abroad
Building a strong organisation
Internally, we continued to optimise our supply chain by transferring all wood production from our factories to our state-of-the-art Wood Hub in Prague. At the same time, we further improved the efficiency of the Wood Hub, enabling us to produce more efficiently and with even less waste. We also made strong progress towards becoming one company through the continued development and rollout of our systems. The implementation of our new ERP system, IFS, is in full swing, all our European companies have been onboarded onto Salesforce, and valuable improvements have been made in pCon. Together, these systems enable us to collaborate more effectively and further improve the experience for our customers — which is ultimately what we do it all for.
International expansion of our network remains an important pillar of our strategy. In Germany, we opened a new circular showroom and entered into a strategic partnership with designfunktion, strengthening our position and expanding our commercial and circular reach in this market. We also entered into a strategic partnership with Fursys in South Korea and took the first steps in growing our business in New Zealand and Australia
Furniture improving the work environment
Alongside these strategic developments, we remain focused on improving the comfort and experience of the working environment. A good example of this is Ahrend Cerene Skylight, our newest innovative office pod with a daylight lamp that contributes to well-being and comfort in the workplace. Our design leadership was also recognised externally, with the Ahrend Remode — our most sustainable task chair — receiving a Red Dot Award. This achievement once again shows our commitment to combining sustainability, innovation and design excellence. Another great moment this year was the return of the rights to the Gispen Classics to our portfolio, strengthening an iconic part of our heritage and offering.
Outlook on 2026
Outlook on 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, we remain realistic about the market environment. Given current global events, we do not expect uncertainty to disappear overnight. Customer investment decisions may remain cautious, and geopolitical and economic developments will continue to influence our markets. Nevertheless, we look to the future with confidence.
This confidence is rooted in the progress we have made over recent years. Across the organisation, strategic initiatives are coming together: our commercial approach has been strengthened, our systems and processes are becoming more connected, and our circular capabilities continue to expand. While these investments required significant effort and focus, they have positioned us to operate more effectively and to create greater value for customers in the years ahead.
In 2026, our focus will be on turning this progress into visible impact in the market and sustained value creation for all our stakeholders
A big thank you
These achievements are the result of the dedication, expertise and commitment of all our colleagues and partners. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed over the past year. Together, we continue to build a company that is innovative, sustainable and relevant: well positioned for the future, while staying true to the values that define Royal Ahrend.
Rolf
