As sofa.com marks 20 years in business, managing director Sunayna Azam [left] and creative director Nicky Emlick [right] discuss the brand’s reset; its move beyond sofas; and why customer-led design is shaping its next phase.
When sofa.com launched two decades ago, the idea of persuading customers to buy a sofa online was a bold bet. The business continues to be forward-thinking, now with a broader home offer, a clearer B2B strategy and a renewed focus on the customer.
Azam and Emlick describe themselves as bringing different strengths to the table, but with a shared vision for where the brand can go next.
Heritage and a timely reset
According to Azam, the digital-native company’s anniversary has provided an opportunity to look both backwards and forwards. “The brand’s got a really strong heritage of 20 years, and that’s the key milestone we’re celebrating this year,” she says.
Since being acquired by Frasers Group in 2019, she says the business has been stabilised, but the team recognised last year that it needed to sharpen its proposition amid a changing interiors market, and the rise of challenger brands.
“We really needed to build on our strengths,” Azam explains. “We’ve got a clear competitive advantage and loads of strengths which we weren’t necessarily talking about enough or optimising enough. That’s where Nicky and I got together last year and worked on a complete new strategy.”
Emlick adds that the reset also changed how the company works internally. “We both bring something completely different to the table,” she notes. “The teams are more unified and everyone brings something very specific. We’re almost like the roundtable of making decisions now, where the voices are clear and loud and strong.”
The most important part – listening
Azam joined sofa.com three years ago, initially leading marketing before moving into the managing director role.
“Last year was about doing all the groundwork, laying the foundations and really building that momentum going into this year. There was a lot of work to be done getting us ready operationally and structurally,” she shares.
That work is underpinned by sofa.com’s vertically integrated manufacturing model. The retailer owns its own factory in Poland, which Azam says gives the business control over quality, lead times and its ability to respond to demand.
“We take pride in being an upholstery-led business,” Azam notes. “We have full control of manufacturing. We’re upholstery specialists, and that’s at the heart of what we do.”
Emlick adds: “None of us in these industries know everything. My background is interiors, but that doesn’t mean I know some of the business parts that Sunayna knows. The most important part of our business is listening to the customer — listening to what’s transitioning, what a customer wants and how they want to live.”
New living-room rituals
Listening to how consumers want to live, through its own consumer research, has not only highlighted how shoppers are using their furniture at home, but has also provided sofa.com with inspiration for new products.
The research has found a new weekly ritual, which the retailer is calling the “Sofa Supper Club”. Households are increasingly eatting takeaway meals on the sofa, fuelled by food-delivery apps and movie-night culture. Sofa.com says this shift is influencing buying decisions, with a 25 per cent uplift in stain-resistant performance fabrics, as customers look for seating that can withstand spills, snacks and relaxed evenings built around the living room.
Pet-friendly living is also becoming more design-led. Its “Paws & Relax” research found that almost one in ten customers are choosing matching pet sofas in identical fabrics and finishes, reflecting a desire for cohesive interiors where pets have a designated seat of their own.
A third trend is the “Sofa-Bed Boom”, as shrinking homes and hybrid working push spare rooms to double as offices. More households are opting for multifunctional designs that offer comfort by day and practicality by night, making sofa beds a cornerstone of adaptable, space-savvy homes.
Making a house a home
By actively listening to the customer and harnessing this research, sofa.com can ensure it caters for these new trends – through a growing category offering.
“We’re really looking to take it from not just focusing on sofas, but to the next level — dining, bedroom, wherever we can really tap into that upholstery expertise,” says Azam.
“People want the same sort of design cohesion across their home. They don’t want just pieces; they want the wider identity.”
For Emlick, the challenge is making sure the retailer grows without losing the identity that made the brand distinctive in the first place. “Sofa.com 20 years ago — that’s history, but there are parts of that history that are really relevant right now,” she says. “That thread has to go into our next 20 years because that’s what gives that heritage.”
She adds that comfort remains the guiding principle as the retailer expands. “We’re so known for comfort, quality, being built to last and at a good price point,” Emlick says. “Opening up these new categories like bed and dining, we’re really focusing on the most comfortable dining chair, the most comfortable bed, the right partner and the right mattress. It’s the Goldilocks experience.”
B2B and bespoke growth
Another major growth pillar is business-to-business. Azam says sofa.com has long had a loyal trade customer base, particularly among interior designers, but is now pushing further into commercial projects.
“Last year we really stepped up the game with partnering with LW Theatres. We’re doing bespoke furniture for them, and that’s testament to the durability and quality of the furniture we offer.”
Emlick notes that bespoke capability opens up further opportunities in hospitality and commercial interiors. “B2B is an exciting journey — being able to do what we’ve done in the theatres,” she says. “We do all the drawings for the theatres, so it’s a very bespoke service that we’re offering, and that’s really exciting for us to open up into more hotel projects going forward.”
Furnishing your home from one delivery
With furniture retailers heading into the crucial pre-Christmas trading period, sofa.com’s manufacturing model gives it a point of difference. Azam says the business can plan ahead while still remaining reactive.
“Because we have full control of the factory, peak planning happens way in advance, but we can manage that pipeline,” she says. “The lead times are really short, which gives us a huge competitive edge. We can do cut-off for Christmas a lot later than some other businesses and still turn it around within four weeks.”
From a design perspective, Emlick says customers still want choice even when they are shopping to a deadline. “There’s still the find-the-one moment — find the one fabric, find the one sofa, the identity of what they’re putting into their home,” she says. “To be able to still live with that in a short deadline is actually quite good.”
Preparing for peak and future growth requires digital transformation and operational readiness, Amaz stresses. The retailer is planning a website migration and further investment in its back-end systems.
“We’re very aware of where the market’s headed, and we really want to make sure we’ve upgraded our systems, whether front end or back end,” Azam explains. “For me, success would look like being in a really great place operationally, where we’ve solidified our foundations to then build from there.”
And any strong foundation is built around the customer. Emlick adds: “It’s about being true to our identity, but really opening up these categories in a stronger fold of dining and bedroom,” she says. “Our customers need to feel they can come to our stores, go online and trust the process they’ve trusted for a long time with our sofas, chairs and sofa beds.”
As Emlick puts it, the ambition is simple: “Being able to furnish your home from one delivery.”
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