Innovation plays a vital role in the Group’s history.  In fact, innovation was the original principle behind Somfy, whose founders anticipated, nearly 50 years ago, the international growth potential of a market that did not exist at the time: motorized controls for blinds and rolling shutters. Since then, Somfy has continued to expand through a series of innovations: Radio Technology Somfy®, centralized equipment control and, now, digitalized products. 

Find out about the key stages in building the Somfy group since it was founded in 1969. 

In 1969, Somfy was founded in Cluses, France, with the visionary intuition of a group of entrepreneurs who believed that motorized systems for openings in the home would revolutionize the comfort of our living environment.

That same year, the invention of the tubular motor for blinds paved the way for the first electrically operated blind on the French market.  This technology was then extended to Somfy’s other original market: rolling shutters. 

The French market quickly became too small. In 1969, Somfy initiated its international expansion by creating a network of wholly owned distribution subsidiaries. After Germany and Sweden, four subsidiaries were formed between 1977 and 1979 (the Netherlands, the United States, Italy and Switzerland).

This commercial independence remains a core principle of the Group’s development model today. 

In 1981, Somfy designed a small box—the Somfy Matic—to adjust blinds automatically according to the weather. This laid the foundations for the development of automation.

Since 1984, when the Damart group acquired the company, Somfy has benefited from a stable shareholder structure with a long-term entrepreneurial vision. 

This helped propel the company’s international expansion—subsidiaries later opened in Spain, Belgium, Japan and Australia. It also aided marketing investments, to help raise the profile of the Somfy brand:
 

• In 1986, the Group created the Somfy Expert network of trained installers, who became brand ambassadors
   
• In 1987 it launched its first television advertising campaign in France, to forge direct links with end-users
   

These initiatives were then rolled out across the world, and remain core elements that drive the Group’s growth. 

The fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of 1989 opened up new development potential for Somfy in Eastern Europe. Then at the start of the 1990s, subsidiaries were opened in the Middle East, India and South Korea.

Innovation was another key factor in the Group’s growth. In 1990, Somfy opened up a new market to motorization: interior blinds. It also upgraded the technology in its tubular motors.

In 1993, the creation of an entity dedicated to electronics accelerated the spread of Radio Technology Somfy® and automatic controls.  

In 1990 Somfy acquired Simu, its main competitor. The event also marked the launch of an external growth strategy aimed at consolidating the Group’s leadership. In the space of a decade, ten companies had joined Somfy.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Somfy set itself another challenge: to catch up with, then overtake, competitors on the gates and garage doors market, a new business for the Group. It achieved this within a decade by acquiring six companies, including BFT, as well as by developing a range for the Somfy brand and by implementing a sales strategy based on the complementary brands in the portfolio.

On its original market of blinds and rolling shutters, which had become more competitive, Somfy continued to focus on creating value. In 2004, the number of motors equipped with Radio Technology Somfy® exceeded the number of traditional products for the first time. The Group also branched out into new distribution channels: electricians, window manufacturers and, in some countries, DIY superstores, as of 2000.

As the world began to realize the challenges of climate change, improving living environments—until then an underlying philosophy—became a clear strategy. In 2007, Somfy launched Bioclimatic Façades in the commercial segment to fulfil two demands: energy performance of buildings, and occupant comfort.

In the residential segment too, comfort further improved with the introduction, in 2006, of io-homecontrol®, a two-way communication technology. This technology lets end-users monitor the operation of openings. It also all allows home appliances to communicate and interact with each other. It was the beginning of a new era.

The phenomenal success of the smartphone—which is transforming the way we live—has marked a turning-point in the building industry, ushering in the digital age.

In 2010, Somfy launched its first Connected Home solution: TaHoma®. Using the app on their smartphone or tablet, end-users can now remotely control all home appliances—made by Somfy and 16 other brands—and create intelligent lifestyle settings.

In 2015, innovation accelerated further. The creation of the Connected Solutions Activity supported the digitalization of the Group’s core markets. With the launch of Smart & Smooth, tubular motor systems for blinds and rolling shutters entered the era of the Internet of Things. In Europe, Asia, the Americas and the Middle East, Somfy began developing plug & play smart home solutions, which are easier to install and adapted to local demand for improving living environments.

Meanwhile, the Group continued to move into new markets. In 2010, with the acquisition of a majority holding (70%) in Dooya, Somfy became the leader in the Chinese market for tubular motors. And in 2014, the Access Activity, which had expanded with a new range of security products, became the Group’s second strongest source of growth.

With the creation of the eco-design label Act for Green in 2015, Somfy put energy efficiency and environmental protection at the heart of its development strategy and new products. Motorized solar protection products also took off.

In 2019, and in partnership with the Liébot Group, Somfy innovated around a new usage—safe and natural ventilation for better indoor air quality—and presented the first motorized and connected sliding window. This new range of offers is part of the “Somfy Air” program and provides the Group with a new high-potential market.

At the dawn of a new decade, the Group is also taking the time to reflect on a building industry that is undergoing profound transformations: accelerating digitalization, the need for greater energy efficiency, ever shorter innovation cycles, and more. A new strategic framework was presented with a 10-year ambition: “To be the preferred partner for window and door automation.” To this end, a new organization was rolled out on January 1, 2020.

At the beginning of 2021, Somfy, as a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), is participating in the creation of Matter, the new connectivity standard, and will now promote it on the connected object market.

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