Sofa Workshop

The Sofa Workshop Ltd
Ltd
Industry Furniture manufacturing and retail
Founded 1986
Headquarters Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
Area served
 United Kingdom
Products Furniture
Revenue £12.3 million (2010)
Website sofaworkshop.com

Sofa Workshop are a furniture manufacturer and retailer best known for creating stylish handmade furniture and offering an unprecedented level of product and fabric customisation.[1] All of their furniture is handmade in Britain. As well as sofas and chairs, they also make a range of accessories including footstools, cushions and made-to-measure curtains. Formerly based in Lodsworth, West Sussex, United Kingdom, they are now headquartered in Peasmarsh, Surrey.

History

Sofa Workshop, founded by Andrew Cussins in 1985, opened their first store in Maidstone in 1986 and were considered to be the first high street retailer to bring affordable, customisable, quality sofas to the general public. In November 2002, Cussins sold the company to MFI Group for £12.25M. Seen by many as a poor marriage of brands due to different customer markets when MFI ceased selling lounge furniture, Sofa Workshop was sold. They were bought in October 2006 by the New Haven Group which then appointed an administrator in May 2008.[2] At that stage the company had 31 stores in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, employing 160 people. The company had revenue amounting to £30 million in the year ending May 2008.[3]

On 31 December 2008, Sofa Workshop announced that they were lining up Leonard Curtis as a possible administrator.[4] Leonard Curtis stated at the time that there had been expressions of interest in purchasing the company.[3] It was reported on 31 January 2009 that Sofa Workshop had been sold. Leonard Curtis said 10 of the company's 30 stores had been bought by Erewash Upholstery, which is controlled by a consortium of investors led by Andrew Cussins, who founded Sofa Workshop in 1985.[5] Soon after the management buyout, Cussins moved on.

Since the change of ownership, Sofa Workshop has re-established itself as one of the key furniture retailers in the United Kingdom, and has seen a 40% increase in profits in the year ending December 2010.[6] Over the 30 years Sofa Workshop have been in business, they have developed themselves as an aspiration brand.

Sofa Workshop Ltd now has 15 shops nationwide including a franchise shop in Chester. They are located in Edinburgh, Exeter, Bath, Bristol, Guildford, Harrogate, Kingston, Tunbridge Wells, Battersea, Chiswick, Newbury, Westfield Stratford City, King’s Road and Tottenham Court Road in London. In January 2012, they opened a second shop in Battersea, London as a dedicated Clearance Outlet.

In October 2013, Sofa Workshop was acquired by DFS.[7][8] However, it continues to trade as its own distinct business and brand.

Products

They are perhaps best known for product innovations and have been first to market with new ideas latterly picked up by sofa retailers in general. They were the first high street sofa retailer to offer both aniline leather and removable, washable loose covered sofas.

Sofa Workshop famously market that they offer in excess of two thousand different fabrics and leathers, the most extensive on the high street

Consumer Reviews

Consumer review site Trustpilot shows good ratings for Sofa Workshop, with the majority of comments referring to the high quality of the products and the friendly and helpful customer service offered.

References

  1. ↑ "Midcentury-style Miss Behaving sofa at Sofa Workshop". Retro To Go. 2011-08-31. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  2. ↑ Thompson, James (2009-01-30). "Sofa Workshop bought out by founder". London: RetailWeek. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Push to sell Sofa Workshop". Financial Times. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  4. ↑ Thompson, James (2009-01-09). "Sofa Workshop in last-ditch talks as high street suffers". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
  5. ↑ Thompson, James (2009-01-30). "Administrators sell Sofa Workshop to founder". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  6. ↑ "Profit up 40% for £12.3m Sofa Workshop". Furnishing Report. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  7. ↑ "DFS acquires Sofa Workshop to appeal to aspirational shoppers". Retail Week. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
  8. ↑ "DFS ACQUIRES ASPIRATIONAL BRAND". Retail Week. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2014-11-06.

External links