GLASGOW-BORN retail boss Vince Gunn is poised to launch a branch of upmarket chain sofa.com in his native city.
Mr Gunn, whose career has included senior leadership roles with Marks & Spencer, The Body Shop, Mothercare and Thomson Travel Group, is overseeing the development of an 8,000 square foot unit in the fashionable Finnieston area.
The showroom, due to open next month, will be the Chelsea-based group's biggest to date and its second in Scotland. It launched a showroom in October last year in Edinburgh, based in a former school house in Marchmont dating from 1895.
Sofa.com, which was acquired by private equity group CBPE from its founders in a deal reportedly worth £40m to £50m in early 2015, has not disclosed how much it is investing in the Finnieston showroom.
However Mr Gunn said the outlet, based in a former auction house on St Vincent Crescent, will employ eight staff. It will take its overall headcount in Scotland to 24 across showrooms and its small distribution hub in Alloa.
Both the Scottish outlets will be overseen by Clare Dallem, who currently runs the Marchmont showroom.
Mr Gunn, who spent four years in Amsterdam as managing director of Crocs Europe before joining
sofa.com last year, said his home city had been on the company’s radar for some time.
“We always look through the property pipeline and Glasgow and Edinburgh are always in our sights,” said Mr Gunn.
“When I arrived the Edinburgh location was a work in progress – it’s a beautiful showroom. Then we were very specifically targeting Glasgow.
“You’ve just got to take your time and for us it is quite challenging, because you we are looking for interesting spaces as well. Glasgow will be showroom number seven and number two in Scotland.”
Sofa.com comes to Glasgow at a time of consolidation in the furniture retail trade, following the
Sterling Furniture’s recent acquisition of long-established operator Forrest Furnishing.
Asked whether the company had been attracted to Finnieston because of its fashionable status – its renaissance has seen it dubbed the hippest place in Britain – Mr Gunn said: “It was probably a combination of both design and luck, and I think you do need a bit of luck when you are building a property pipeline. So many factors can influence along the journey – even Brexit can influence things in terms of what’s happened to the property market.
“We looked at a number of locations, in Great Western Road, the west end and also at the heart of the city. However, we just felt this was an area that’s benefiting from the redevelopment on this side of Glasgow and the infrastructure is getting stronger. It’s great to see the city bringing that to life.”
The new showroom will join a portfolio including outlets in Islington, Chelsea, Bankside, Bath and Amsterdam. It will feature a range of sofa.com’s signature touches, including a bar and children’s area, complete with toys and DVDs.
Mr Gunn, who sits on the board of Uddingston-based Pagazzi Lighting, said a key aim is to maximise “dwell time” in the showrooms. “We’re very encouraged by the reaction, certainly in Edinburgh, by how far people are travelling [to the outlets],” he said.
“Also, what we measure is the dwell time, and the dwell time in our Edinburgh showroom was two hours. When people actually get there, they’re thinking they don’t want to leave. That’s really nice because that’s a lot of what the brand’s about.”
Mr Gunn emphasised sofa.com is keen to instil a “family feel” in its outlets, noting even pets are welcome. “We’re here to serve your needs,” he said. “No one is on commission. There is a bar in there that will serve you fresh coffee [and] Prosecco. There’s the children’s area, you can bring your pet. It’s very much an inclusive feel.”
He added: “Shopping with kids usually is not a lot of fun, and when you are trying to make a considered purchase you’ve got enough stress. It is a big factor for us that we have been able to embrace families as well.”
While many elements in Finnieston will be familiar to sofa.com regulars, Mr Gunn said the showroom will have features which will be unique to Glasgow. “We really want to think about what will be right about Glasgow,” he said.
Mr Gunn, who left his home city 30 years ago to pursue his retail ambitions, said the company’s vertically integrated model makes it unusual in the furniture sector.
It designs and manufactures its own products in Poland, which range from sofas and beds to armchairs and footstools, and employs its own distribution team to make deliveries to customers. Fabrics such as cottons, lines, wools and velvets are sourced from mills in Italy and Belgium.
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