Where Is Interior Define Furniture Made?
Update, 28 October 2022 In the months following the publication of this article, Interior Define has received an avalanche of customer complaints regarding the late delivery of furniture and communication breakdowns. In response to a request for comment on these matters, the company provided Business of Home with the following statement: “We have long taken pride in our ability to avoid many of the supply chain issues that plague others.
The second half of this year has been marred by unanticipated headwinds that have had a direct effect on our customer experience. We believe in our product and our people and will continue to work around the clock to provide customers with answers and solutions and regain their trust.” As our investigation continues, we will provide additional updates.
A retailer that sells directly to consumers is opening stores? Check. Seen it. Which direct-to-consumer retailer is expanding its selection and relocating to larger physical locations? Check. There and done that. A furniture retailer that does not experience supply chain and inventory issues? Wait, that’s something we haven’t encountered frequently before.
Being a retailer of custom-order upholstered furniture has proven to be the key to Interior Define’s recent success and continued physical store development. The 8-year-old firm has deftly remained out of the firing line when it comes to managing inventory logistics, since it holds no inventory of finished items and serves a client base that knows the time restrictions of special-order upholstered products.
Andrew Neelon Thanks to Interior Define While the corporation is evaluating the possibility of home manufacture, it presently sources from China and Vietnam. Due to its build-to-order methodology, the firm has not been affected by the pandemic-caused shortages or the subsequent excesses that many furniture retailers are suffering.
Andrew Neelon, vice president of growth for Interior Define, tells Business of Home, “All of our furniture is custom-made, so our clients are accustomed to significant lead times.” “Delays in the supply chain have been a problem in terms of lengthier lead times, but they have not led to an overstocking situation for us given our business strategy.” As the CEO responsible for expansion, Neelon has been quite busy recently.
Interior Define was founded in 2014 as an online-only bespoke upholstery retailer. Rob Royer, who founded the firm and left in 2020, created the brand’s first test store in Chicago a few years later, and then progressively developed the business. “It was always a no-brainer that this category needed locations,” says Neelon, saying that while the final transaction may not occur in the physical location, the company immediately understood that consumers wanted to view the goods in person prior to making an order.
- By the year 2020, the corporation had storefronts in eight major metropolitan locations, each of which was around 2,500 square feet in size.
- Interior Define continued to develop, reaching 14 sites by the end of 2021 despite the pandemic, which hampered in-store traffic throughout the whole home industry.
Some of the new outposts quadrupled in size, to an average of 5,500 square feet, as a result of this development. Newer stores, including those launching in Minneapolis and Baltimore this month, have sufficient room to accommodate work areas where customers may evaluate fabrics, wood treatments, and other upholstery components.
- This year, it is anticipated that the number of Interior Define stores would increase to at least 30.
- And possibly as many as 33 locations, depending on leases and store build-outs).
- This figure may be considerably higher, but Neelon cautions, “We’re not establishing stores to chase a number.” Larger-format stores, maybe up to 10,000 square feet in size, are also a possibility, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
A group of Interior Define items, including the Hollis dining chair Thanks to Interior Define Regardless of size, the brand’s outlets have appeared in prominent retail districts. Neelon said, “We feel you must fish where the fish exist.” A recently opened store in the Dallas market, for example, is in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood, close to merchants such as RH, Crate & Barrel, and Pottery Barn.
- Similarly, the Brooklyn shop is located in fashionable, pricey Williamsburg, i.e., where the “fish” are.
- Interior Define has continued to develop its e-commerce platform while utilizing online order algorithms to plan its next physical sites.
- Due to the multichannel nature of the purchase process, Neelon asserts that measuring the proportion of online vs in-store sales has become entirely irrelevant.
Instead, adding a physical store increases sales across the board in that town. “We are aware that as our number of stores increases, so does our e-commerce business,” he explains. When we add a store to a market, our business grows exponentially. Interior Define extended its omnichannel capabilities by releasing its first print catalog this spring, adding the direct-mail lookbook to its social media advertising and promotional efforts.
- All of these developments have led to what Neelon reports was double-digit growth in May, despite the fact that several of the largest publicly traded shops reported slowing sales.
- Neelon exclaims, “The new stores are performing astonishingly well; we’re shocked at how well they’re doing.” As a private company, Interior Define does not disclose its financial statistics.
It has received venture capital financing from numerous investors, including Pritzker Group, Listen Ventures, Breakout Capital, Fifth Wall, and Peterson Ventures. According to Neelon, there is no long-term strategy to go public or pay out. True to its name, expansion appears to be how the organization now identifies itself.
- The greater footprint of new Interior Define shops enables the installation of roomy workstations | Thanks to Interior Define Warren Shoulberg was once the editor-in-chief of a number of notable B2B journals.
- He has served as a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, received awards from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and has been cited as a leading industry expert by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and other media.
His Retail Watch columns provide in-depth industry analysis on important product categories and markets. Wish to remain informed? Sign up for our newsletter, which summarizes the week’s headlines, and subscribe to our quarterly print magazine to receive in-depth industry news and commentary. 
Is Interior define produced in China?
The collections of Interior Define are created in Chicago and manufactured in China and Vietnam.
16 Rob Royer – Founder of Interior Define on Defining a Brand Mission and Customer Experience.
Who is interior define?
Interior Define is a digitally-native furniture brand, giving the most enhanced and personalised experience in the middle market. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Debt Financing. www.interiordefine.com.