Villeroy & Boch
Villeroy & Boch's official website for Sweden
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Villeroy & Boch is a German ceramics and home-living group whose history reaches back to an earthenware business established by François Boch in 1748 in Audun-le-Tiche, then in the Duchy of Lorraine. The company’s later identity emerged from the combination of the Boch family business with the Villeroy ceramics enterprise. The two families’ industrial partnership created the Villeroy & Boch name in the nineteenth century and helped turn a regional pottery operation into an internationally recognized manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Mettlach, Saarland, where the former Benedictine abbey and its surrounding industrial site became central to the group’s history. Villeroy & Boch developed expertise in industrial ceramic production, including tableware, decorative objects, tiles and sanitary ceramics. Its long-term growth was supported by technological development, factory modernization, design-oriented collections and expansion into international markets. The brand became particularly associated with refined European table settings, coordinated dinnerware collections and the use of ceramics as part of interior design rather than merely as a utilitarian material. The modern group has two principal business areas. The Dining & Lifestyle division covers household tableware, serving pieces, cutlery, glassware, gift products and selected decorative or seasonal collections. It sells through specialist retailers, department stores, its own stores and online channels, as well as through hospitality and contract customers. The Bathroom & Wellness division supplies sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, bathtubs, showers, fittings and related bathroom systems for residential, hospitality and commercial projects. The bathroom business gives Villeroy & Boch a substantial specification-led and professional-market presence in addition to its consumer brand activities. Villeroy & Boch operates as a premium design and quality brand rather than as a mass-market ceramics supplier. Its offer commonly combines historical patterns and formal tableware traditions with contemporary collaborations, minimalist ranges and coordinated interior products. The company also maintains a strong heritage-marketing platform, using its long history, archival designs and manufacturing knowledge to support brand differentiation. Individual product families such as La Boule, NewWave, Artesano and the Metro bathroom concept illustrate the breadth of its design language, although availability varies by market and collection. The Swedish website is a country-specific commercial channel for the German group, not evidence that the company is Swedish. The corporate headquarters and historical center remain in Germany. Villeroy & Boch’s public-company identity has continued alongside its international consumer brand presence, and the group reorganized its legal form from AG to SE in 2024. Its acquisition of the Ideal Standard business, announced and completed in 2024, materially broadened its bathroom and wellness platform and increased the strategic importance of professional bathroom projects. The group remains active across tableware, bathroom equipment, design, retail and project markets.
History
Villeroy & Boch traces its roots to 1748, when François Boch established an earthenware operation in Audun-le-Tiche. The Boch family business developed during a period when ceramics production was moving from small artisanal workshops toward larger, more industrially organized manufacturing. Its growth was supported by improvements in kiln technology, molding, decoration and distribution. The Villeroy side of the name derives from Nicolas Villeroy, whose ceramics enterprise operated in the Saar region. In 1809, Boch and Villeroy entered into a business association that brought together two important regional producers. The combined enterprise gradually adopted industrial methods and expanded beyond basic earthenware. The partnership became especially significant after the Boch family established operations at Mettlach in a former Benedictine abbey, a site that remains associated with the group’s headquarters and heritage. During the nineteenth century, the company broadened its production and markets. It invested in manufacturing technology, developed increasingly sophisticated tableware and decorative ceramics, and participated in the wider European trend toward branded household goods. The company’s products were distributed beyond the immediate Saar and Lorraine regions, helping establish Villeroy & Boch as a recognizable name in European ceramics. Tiles and architectural ceramics also became important parts of the historical business. The twentieth century brought further modernization and internationalization. Villeroy & Boch continued to manufacture tableware while expanding its role in bathroom and sanitary ceramics. The group’s design-led ranges allowed it to serve both everyday premium consumers and more formal hospitality or dining occasions. In bathroom products, the company moved from individual sanitary pieces toward coordinated collections involving ceramics, furniture, bathtubs, fittings and wellness products. In the contemporary period, Villeroy & Boch has operated through two broad business pillars: Dining & Lifestyle and Bathroom & Wellness. Dining & Lifestyle includes porcelain and ceramic tableware, serving products, cutlery, glassware, gifts and related home products. Bathroom & Wellness serves private consumers, retailers, architects, developers, hotels and other professional customers. The group uses multiple channels, including branded retail, wholesale, e-commerce and project distribution. The brand’s market identity rests on the combination of long industrial heritage, European design, product coordination and premium positioning. Historical patterns and recognizable collections are sold alongside contemporary forms and functional products. The group has also used limited editions, seasonal designs and collaborations to keep the tableware business relevant to changing household and gifting occasions. A major strategic development came in 2023, when Villeroy & Boch agreed to acquire Ideal Standard, an international bathroom-products company. Completion followed in 2024. The acquisition expanded the scale and geographic reach of the Bathroom & Wellness business and added a larger professional and project-oriented platform. In the same period, the listed parent changed its legal form from Villeroy & Boch AG to Villeroy & Boch SE. Today, Villeroy & Boch remains headquartered in Mettlach, Germany, while selling internationally through local subsidiaries, retailers, digital channels and professional distribution. Country websites such as the Swedish site support local-language and local-market sales but do not change the company’s German origin or headquarters. Its current identity therefore combines a heritage tableware brand with a broad bathroom and interior-products group.
- 2024
Ideal Standard acquisition completed
[3]The acquisition of Ideal Standard was completed, enlarging Villeroy & Boch’s international bathroom business and professional-market capabilities.
- 2024
Legal form changed to SE
[5]The listed company changed its legal form from Villeroy & Boch AG to Villeroy & Boch SE.
- 2023
Agreement to acquire Ideal Standard
[3]Villeroy & Boch announced an agreement to acquire Ideal Standard, aiming to expand its bathroom and wellness activities.
- 1809
Boch and Villeroy partnership formed
[1]The Boch and Villeroy businesses entered into an association that created the foundation for the later Villeroy & Boch enterprise.
- 1809
Mettlach becomes a central company site
[1]The Boch family’s development of production at Mettlach established the Saarland location that remains the group’s historical and corporate center.
- 1748
Boch ceramics business established
[1]François Boch established the ceramics operation generally regarded as the starting point of Villeroy & Boch’s corporate history.
Products and positioning
Premium European ceramics and interior-living brand combining heritage, design, coordinated collections and professional project expertise across tableware and bathroom products.
Dinnerware
Tableware collections
Villeroy & Boch’s tableware range includes porcelain and ceramic plates, bowls, cups, serving pieces and coordinated sets. Collections span formal white porcelain, contemporary sculptural designs, rustic stoneware-inspired looks and seasonal or decorative patterns. The business serves household dining, gifting, hospitality and special-occasion use.
Stackable tableware
La Boule
La Boule is a compact, sculptural tableware concept in which multiple pieces stack into a spherical object when not in use. It is designed to function both as a service for dining and as a decorative object for the home. The concept demonstrates the brand’s emphasis on combining usability, recognizable form and display value.
Contemporary dinnerware
NewWave
NewWave is a contemporary tableware family known for asymmetrical, flowing forms and wave-like silhouettes. The collection has been extended across plates, cups, serving pieces and related dining products, giving consumers a coordinated range for modern table settings. It is one of the group’s recognizable design-led consumer lines.
Lifestyle tableware
Artesano
Artesano is a lifestyle-oriented collection built around relaxed dining and coordinated kitchen or serving use. Its range has included porcelain, stoneware-style pieces, glassware and accessories, allowing the brand to address casual meals as well as entertaining. The collection reflects Villeroy & Boch’s move toward complete table-and-home concepts.
Bathroom products
Bathroom & Wellness
The Bathroom & Wellness business includes sanitary ceramics, toilets, washbasins, bidets, bathtubs, showers, bathroom furniture, fittings and related solutions. Products are sold through consumer, retail and professional channels and are organized into coordinated bathroom collections. The business also supports architects, developers, hotels and other project customers.
Brand decisions
2024
Conversion from AG to SEOtherBackground
The legal-form change took place as Villeroy & Boch continued operating as a publicly traded European group.
Action taken
The company changed its legal form from Villeroy & Boch AG to Villeroy & Boch SE.
Aftermath
The company continued under the Villeroy & Boch SE name and retained its public-market identity.
2023
Agreement to acquire Ideal StandardM&ABackground
Villeroy & Boch sought to strengthen and internationalize its Bathroom & Wellness business. Ideal Standard brought an established bathroom portfolio and professional-market presence.
Action taken
The company announced an agreement to acquire the Ideal Standard Group, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Aftermath
The transaction was completed in 2024 and expanded the group’s bathroom platform.
Recent events
- 2024
Villeroy & Boch completes acquisition of Ideal Standard[3]
M&A
The group reported completion of the Ideal Standard acquisition after the required closing conditions were met. The transaction strengthened Villeroy & Boch’s bathroom business and expanded its product, manufacturing and distribution footprint.
- 2024
Villeroy & Boch changes legal form from AG to SE[3]
Other
The company adopted the European Company legal form, becoming Villeroy & Boch SE. The change followed shareholder approval and preserved the group’s status as a publicly traded European company.
- 2023
Villeroy & Boch announces agreement to acquire Ideal Standard[3]
M&A
Villeroy & Boch announced an agreement to acquire the Ideal Standard Group, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. The proposed transaction was presented as a way to expand the group’s bathroom and wellness business and create a broader international bathroom platform.
Sources5 sources
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