Based in the Beaujolais region, the manufacturer has built its reputation on colorful metal outdoor furniture. But Fermob is thinking bigger. At the helm, Bernard and Baptiste Reybier aim to turn it into a global brand for home and contract space design.
The year 2026 accelerates the brand’s move into indoor living. This strategic shift is embodied by La Maison Fermob. Located within the Charnay-lès-Mâcon showroom, near the historic site of Thoissey, it invites retailers, specifiers, and consumers alike to discover the collections and the most extensive color palette on the market.
Experiential immersion
A specialist in gardens, terraces, and public spaces, Fermob brings its outdoor design to audiences around the world. Its iconic “Luxembourg” chairs account for the largest share of its revenue. Over three decades, the company has steadily expanded its industrial expertise. It has launched an ever-growing range of robust, ready-to-assemble, and responsible products. Ninety-five percent are recyclable, and 87% are easily repairable.
Lighting, decorative accessories, and now indoor furniture enrich the offering, along with uses and materials. Bernard Reybier, who revitalized the company after acquiring it in 1989, explains:
“Fermob is a global reference in outdoor living. Today, the goal is to expand our scope in a more deliberate way. Metal remains our core expertise, but we are introducing other materials selected with the same care, such as leather or locally crafted oak.”
With his son Baptiste, CEO, he has transformed part of the Charnay-lès-Mâcon showroom into a living space simply called La Maison Fermob. The fitted interior includes a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room, balcony, and garden.
“Our internal teams were immediately convinced,” the company head notes. “You find color and joie de vivre, our core values. Our indoor/outdoor products are presented in real-life settings with maximum fluidity.”
The evolving, transformable space is anything but a static display. “The lifestyle we propose adapts to every need, from small urban spaces to the most diverse professional environments,” adds Bernard Reybier.
Color, under the banner of expertise and emotion
Color is an inseparable component of Fermob’s collections, and has been so since the brand’s revival in the 1990s. Aude Florimont, who trains sales teams in color symbolism, highlights its importance:
“When Bernard Reybier arrived, outdoor furniture was limited to white and cedar green. He had the visionary idea to develop color. Acquiring the paint line quickly proved pivotal.”
The creation of an original, varied, and intense color palette was an immediate success. “We design every single shade in the color chart,” she adds. “Even the simplest ones are exclusive. From 2015 onward, Fermob moved upmarket with its products. We had to develop more subtle tones. And since the beginning of the decade, colour has been guiding us in the creation of worlds and atmospheres… “The choice of words and the way they are perceived are an integral part of creating a colour.” The 25 metal shades in the colour chart have varying lifespans. “On average, three or four colours change each year.” Some, however, prove more resilient than others, such as Cactus Green, which has enjoyed continuous success for eight years.
Aude Florimont also looks at recently launched shades. “The Orange confite of 2024 is close to, but more intense than, the Paprika shade from twelve years ago. Bleu Maya and Guimauve are ‘on-trend’ tones and therefore short-lived. They may appear bold when chosen on their own or used as a total look. When paired with more classic shades, however, they create particularly harmonious combinations.”
For 2026, Fermob has not chosen several colours but a single one, with an evocative name: Beige Latte. “The latte makes all the difference,” explains Aude Florimont. “It is a ‘chameleon’ colour, equally at ease with warm and cool tones. It is neither too light nor too intense, and it perfectly blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. We wanted to offer a timeless, luminous beige suited to a wide range of colour harmonies.”
Beige Latte is also the first colour produced using a bio-based paint developed by Axalta. “They are our long-standing paint manufacturer and are just as committed as we are,” continues Aude Florimont. “It is with them that we launched re-paint, our bespoke renovation solution, which extends the lifespan of our products. Our ambition is to offer a fully bio-based colour chart by 2030.”
“The 2026 launches blend uses and materials” The “Studie” seating range, designed by Tristan Lohner, expands with new variations. The Lounge armchair is dressed in recycled fabric to meet demands for ergonomic comfort and elegance. The stackable chair, a reinterpretation of the school chair, is offered in stained wood with a satin finish suitable for indoor use. “The beechwood is hand-stained and varnished to bring depth to the natural grain,” Fermob explains.With “Nuage,” the brand adds a new furniture typology to its catalog: the desk, also combining wood and metal. Compact and versatile, “Nuage” embodies the comfort of use dear to Fermob. Its oak-veneered top with organic curves is complemented by a storage compartment and an airy, rotating steel shelf that echoes the base.The all-metal “Picolino” series already existed as a planter and wall shelf. The latest addition, a console, combines robustness and lightness with bent wire and steel sheet. It is an occasional piece that can be easily moved to the ideal spot, “a link between spaces,” says the brand.Finally, Fermob’s first indoor sofa stands out as a key piece illustrating the brand’s lifestyle evolution. The brand’s DNA is fully expressed: timeless eco-designed aesthetics, sculptural lines, and organic inspiration. Fully removable, customizable, and made in France, the “Voulez-vous” sofa is among the brand’s Maison&Objet launches.
Thoissey, Fermob’s main manufacturing site
Located in the Ain region, Fermob’s former ironwork workshop has given way to an industrial site that now produces two thirds of the brand’s furniture. This represents 20 tonnes of raw materials processed every day and 15,000 products shipped each week. “We work with raw steel and aluminium, as well as coiled white wire,” explains Simon Piguet, head of the workshop. “Steel strip is used in particular for chair components and all curved shapes. We also manufacture our own tools. Each machine is programmed to produce a specific element (tabletop, base, etc.). Of course, we have integrated robots, but many operations are still carried out manually. We manufacture 70 outdoor furniture collections and 330 different models. The diversity of products is such that it is impossible to automate everything.” At Thoissey, an entire area is dedicated to the “Bistrot” chair, which represents the highest sales volume. As for the “zero-waste” paint line, it is undoubtedly one of the site’s most innovative technical installations. It makes it possible to change colours every six minutes, even though the painting process itself takes around two hours. Supported by Axalta, the world leader in coating solutions, Fermob guarantees the use of non-toxic, recyclable powder paint, free from solvents and water. As a result, the environmental qualities of its indoor and outdoor furniture are all the greater.
Source: Home Fashion News Jan26
