History
OUR HISTORY
RIIS Group, established in 1965 by Harald Riis, is a family-owned enterprise led by the 4th generation of the RIIS family. The company’s evolution is marked by a focus on carpentry, restoration, and craftsmanship, notably exemplified in the restoration of Koldinghus castle.
READY FOR THE FUTURE
Today RIIS has more than 200 employees maintaining the company values and essence of design, quality and craftsmanship.
NEW ERA
Over time, the company transitioned through generations, seeing a shift in management and diversification into carpentry for various commercial sectors. Notably, RIIS Retail emerged as a separate entity catering to retail, scaling to deliver comprehensive solutions for renowned brands. This progression continued and today RIIS has more than 200 employees and numerous dedicated partners, maintaining the essence of design, quality and craftsmanship. With nearly 60 years in the industry, RIIS stand as a leading European company. Under the leadership of the fourth generation, RIIS remains committed to delivering comprehensive solutions not only for retail but also for diverse commercial spaces, specializing in the conception and development of spaces tailored for retail, food & beverage, workplace design and hospitality.
STORYLINE
1970, The management was passed on to Harald’s eldest son, Tage Riis, who focused the company in the direction of craft elements and customized restoration. The restoration of the renowned castle, Koldinghus, Denmark, became his life’s work.
1981, Søren Riis, eldest son of Tage Riis, took over the management. With his passion for classic craftsmanship and modern technology, he chose to establish a carpentry business in 1983. He dedicated the company to custom-made furniture for offices, hotels, cafes, stores and custom restoration.
1999, H. Riis & Son was changed to RIIS Enterprise, which later became RIIS Carpentry. The design department was already established to work alongside the production of crafted furniture back in 1994 and has been an integrated part of the company ever since. While RIIS Enterprise kept its focus on solid craftsmanship, furniture and inventory, RIIS Retail A/S was created as a separate company focusing on the retail industry. From there the business started to scale even more. RIIS Retail started to play a major role in the retail market by designing, developing and delivering complete solutions for some of Scandinavia’s most popular retail brands including BESTSELLER brands like JACK & JONES, ONLY and VERO MODA – everything from brand and concept stores to shop-in-shops and pop-up stores.
2004, RIIS passed the 100-employee mark and two years later project no. 1,000 was completed.
During this time, RIIS Retail evolved and started delivering Complete Solutions not just for retail stores but also cafes, offices, meeting rooms and restaurants.
2016, The 4th generation, Kristian Riis, takes over the day-to-day management in close collaboration with Søren Riis.
2017, Project no. 5,000 was delivered.
Today, RIIS Group works as an umbrella organization that handles all RIIS activities. We have evolved massively over the past 50 years, but design, Complete Solutions and the love of craftsmanship are still the cornerstones of RIIS Group today.
2018, RIIS Sarl was established in France, marking an important step in the company’s international journey
2020, RIIS faced challenges brought on by the global Covid-19 pandemic, but the company managed to adapt and move forward.
2021, RIIS was in a positive development and had grown to 150 employees.
2024, RIIS entered a period of strong growth with exciting new business partners. Warehouses were established in both Poland and the USA, and at the same time, an employee was expatriated to the USA to support the expansion.
2025, RIIS celebrates its 60th anniversary, surpasses 200 employees, acquires German company specialized in building pharmacies (rebranded as RIIS Health), and renovates the historic buildings at Gejlhavegård.