Graham & Brown expands African presence

Graham & Brown, the international wall decoration company, is stepping up its presence in the fast-growing North African region with a new store in Egypt’s capital city of Cairo.

The move follows the Blackburn company’s entrance into the region last year, when it opened new outlets in Libya’s Tripoli and Benghazi. Sales from the new venture have already reached £1.5m and it expects to have 15 showrooms operating in the country before the end of the year.

The group, whose British made wallpaper is sold in 75 countries worldwide, said Egypt was part of its long-term growth strategy in the region, where it hopes to develop further presence in Tunisia, Algeria and Israel over the coming two years.

Andrew Graham, CEO of Graham & Brown, said the North African region was an attractive yet over-looked export market. He said: “Major political reform is changing the landscape in Egypt. We’re seeing huge demand for British brands as more homeowners embrace Western tastes in interior design. Add to that a fast-growing urban population and a growing middle class, and you’ve got a strong export opportunity for British manufacturers with our kind of history and design credentials. It’s not an easy market to enter, but we’ve been developing partnerships there for several years and this is now paying dividends.”

He added: "This is part of a wider international growth strategy to take our brand into fast growing markets in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Far East, while consolidating our presence in the more established markets of Western Europe and North America.”

Graham & Brown manufactures products across a portfolio of market-leading brands, as well as ranges in partnership with some of the world’s leading designers, including Kelly Hoppen, Barbara Hulanicki, Marcel Wanders, Steve Leung and Wayne Hemmingway.

Its flagship Graham & Brown brand, which includes wallpaper, paint and wall art, is officially recognised as a CoolBrand – a collection of world’s most highly regarded brands as chosen by an expert panel - for four years running. Others include Apple, Aston Martin, Bang & Olufsen and Prada.