Snug, a London based pioneers of the ‘Sofa in a Box,’ has achieved record sales of £31.6m in 2021, up from £7.1m the year before. The company had a particularly strong fourth quarter, with sales of £10.1m, as it benefitted from consumers opting for its next day delivery service amidst increasing lead times from other furniture retailers which were impacted by global supply chain challenges in the run up to Christmas.
Launched in 2019 by entrepreneur Rob Bridgman, whose family started the luxury outdoor furniture group Bridgman, Snug set out to disrupt the traditional, made-to-order, long lead time sofa industry. Its fast delivery, socially driven e-commerce model and flexible supply chain, including UK manufacture, means Snug can offer one of the shortest lead times to customers in the market, unlike most traditional furniture retailers who make-to-order and manufacture overseas; making their already eight-week long lead times highly vulnerable to global supply chain issues.
Fundamental shifts in consumer habits since the Covid-19 pandemic began have further accelerated Snug’s growth. Flexibility has become a must when it comes to furnishing homes and it has driven a significant increase in demand for Snug’s modular products. People want sofas they can adapt and build as they move home or their families grow – Snug’s bestseller last year was the ‘The Rebel 3 Seater’, which can be easily reconfigured into a larger corner sofa. In response to demand Snug also launched sofa beds in 2021, which contributed to its growth.
Snug’s innovative approach doesn’t stop at its products. The company’s marketing is based almost entirely on the fact that its customers are digital natives. A increasing portion of its sales are driven through social commerce and the business is leading the livestreaming trend in the UK – its recent November live social selling event on Instagram, with comedian Katherine Ryan, secured a record hour of revenue for Snug and a 450% uplift in sales from its previous event in March.
Snug also believes that operating a sustainable brand is key to its future success. Founder Rob always intended the business to be a vehicle for positive change and the products’ environmental specifications are aligned with increasingly eco-conscious consumers in mind. All sofas are made with vegan friendly materials, timber comes from well-managed forests and the packaging is 100% recyclable. Snug has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2025 and is already strong in this area given its primarily UK sourcing and manufacturing means transportation footprint is low. In addition, Snug is committed to supporting people, its partnership with homelessness charity Crisis has raised over £30,000 to date.
Rob Bridgman, Founder & CEO of Snug, comments: “It’s fantastic that we have managed to achieve such strong growth, as well as being profitable and cash generative in 2021 – it was an exciting year at Snug that saw us quadruple the size of our team to 72 and successfully navigate the supply chain issues affecting our industry.
“We’re a challenger brand and entrepreneurs at heart so 2022 won’t see us resting on our laurels, instead we will be looking for more ways to innovate and continue on our growth trajectory. Expect to see us broaden our offer, develop new opportunities to connect with our customers and explore expansion outside of the UK. It’s our vision to be Europe’s number one sofa business.”
