Farrow & Ball has also struggled with lower-cost color matching services. Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel/Getty Images
Sales at Farrow & Ball has slumped since the pandemic-fueled home decoration boom waned.
The paint maker that sells eccentric colors like Elephant's Breath and Dead Salmon has thrived during quarantine Covid as sales hit record levels in 2021.
However, demand has since weakened and the Dorset-based company's revenue fell by around 3% in 2022 to £101m due to a sharp fall in online shopping.
The company's pre-tax profits for the year were 31 £2 million
Claire Dunbar, Managing Director, Farrow & Ball said: “[During Covid] everyone was stuck in their houses with nothing else to do. Everyone was painting, so there was a demand.”
Most people paint their homes every five years, she said, meaning people who renovated during the pandemic may not do so again for some time.
< p>Farrow & Ball was founded by John Farrow and Richard Ball in 1946 and over the decades has become known for its distinctive colors as well as its high prices. Some of the five liter tins of paint sell for around £100.
Success during the pandemic led to the company being bought by Danish coatings company Hempel for £500 million in 2021.
Farrow & Ball was previously owned by US private equity firm Ares, which acquired it for £275 million in 2014.
As well as declining consumer demand, Farrow & Ball also has to contend with competition from rivals offering cheaper color matching services in the UK, where customers print out samples and use a machine to create a similar color for less money.
Farrow & Ball has also invested in expanding its business in the US, where it now has 15 retail showrooms.
Ms Dunbar said: “The biggest difference in America compared to the UK is that it is a market “do it for me”. not a do-it-yourself market.
“[People] there don't paint their houses themselves. They hire a designer to help them make a decision, and then a painter and decorator come in and do all the work for them.”
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