Darty Logo

Darty began with a family mistake. Nathan, Marcel, and Bernard Darty worked with their father in a small textile shop in Montreuil, near Paris. When they rented the neighboring appliance store to expand, they learned too late that the lease required them to keep its original activity. They placed the remaining stock on the sidewalk, sold it within days, and moved from textiles to radios, televisions, and household appliances. Darty was officially registered in 1957.

From the early years, the brothers linked sales with delivery and home service. In 1967, the warehouse moved from Bagnolet to Bondy. After a trip to the United States, where they saw large specialized retail formats, they opened France’s first large appliance store in Bondy in 1968, covering 800 square meters. The first in-house service center opened the same year.

In 1973, Darty introduced the Contrat de Confiance, a written document with thirteen commitments, including low prices, broad product choice, free delivery, installation, and repair throughout the product’s life. If a customer found the same item cheaper elsewhere, Darty refunded the difference. In 1976, the company listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and expanded across France.

In 1984, DACEM was created to supply spare parts and support repairs for old appliances. In 1988, 90 percent of employees joined a buyout and gained control of 56 percent of the capital. That year, Darty opened its 100th store and invested in Belgium’s Vanden Borre. Kingfisher acquired Darty in 1993, while darty.com became an e-commerce site in 1999. In 2003, Darty joined Kesa Electricals PLC with But, Comet, BCC, Vanden Borre, and Datart. DartyBox launched in 2006. In 2016, Fnac acquired Darty, forming Fnac Darty.