Never has there been a time when we have paid attention to home interiors, having spent the best part of two years stuck at home. Luxury interior design specialists like Luxdeco are trying to simplify shopping for buyers by connecting consumers and professionals online. Luxurious Magazine caught up with Founder and CEO Jonathan Holmes to find out more.
Luxurious Magazine: Let’s start off talking about us LuxDeco. Please explain what kind of company it is?
Jonathan Holmes: Absolutely – LuxDeco is the leading global interior marketplace that is redefining the luxury interior design experience and helping people around the world to live beautifully. We offer unparalleled access to 300+ of the world’s finest interior brands plus inspirational lifestyle content (podcasts, playlists, styling advice and trend features) published daily by LuxDeco team experts.
To date, we have delivered over 100,000 products to clients in 70 countries, from places across Europe to further afield in Dubai, Ghana, Japan and Hong Kong.
We also offer a Trade team LuxDeco Pro – that works on large scale hospitality projects plus an interior design studio that completes private residential projects worldwide. Most recently, they completed projects in Dubai and France.
LM: You started your career elsewhere. What were you doing before, and what inspired you to start off on your own?
JH: I taught myself how to build websites while at school, and while studying design at University, I co-founded my first company. I worked on a few ventures in e-commerce and media, and then I spent my career as a digital specialist helping luxury and lifestyle businesses develop into digital brands across their user experience, branding, e-commerce and digital marketing.
Back in 2012, I had an idea to build a marketplace for interiors that could transform a local, offline and fragmented industry and turn it into a digitally connected ecosystem. This idea was borne out of my passion for technology, helping my mum transition her offline interior design business to online, and my frustrations when designing the interiors of my own house.
I knew there were amazing products and brands, but there were major access, knowledge, and trust problems if you weren’t an interior designer. I decided to create a luxury interior design business that would really own the digital space in this market.
LM: Your sector is relatively competitive; what does your business offer that sets it apart from others?
JH: What sets us apart is our breadth of brands and dedication to quality. We have our own LuxDeco line but also stock the biggest names in interior design – there really is something for every taste. When researching new brands or collections, the first question the Buying Team always will ask themselves is, ‘do they truly represent the best of luxury design and offer something different to our customers?’.
The second question is, ‘are the pieces designed to last a lifetime, both in style and production?’. After that, it becomes about the design journey, what was the inspiration for the range, what makes it unique and how that story appeals to our clients.
LM: How much has the interior world changed since you first launched the business?
JH: When I first launched LuxDeco.com 10 years ago, customers were not accustomed to purchasing high-ticket, luxury furniture items online. For example, when searching for a new sofa, the traditional experience would include showroom appointments, consultations, and extensive production times. Now, people are far more accustomed to browsing for furniture online – and this was accentuated by the pandemic that made consumers more aware of their home surroundings than ever.
Our customers are also more acutely aware of sustainable processes and brands than ever. If there are two items that look similar listed on the site, our customers will always choose the one with sustainable production promises.
LM: Do you think people view their homes differently since we now spend a lot more time in them since the onset of the global pandemic?
JH: Definitely. How everyone used their homes completely changed – whether it was creating an office space or a classroom – and we noticed huge spikes at varying points throughout specific product categories. At the start, it was more practical, high-quality furniture pieces, but as time went on, it seemed that our shoppers became more in tune with the design and feel of their homes, reflected in high sales of home decor items, glassware and accessories.
I think we have come to understand just how important home really is and that everyone deserves a place to call home. At the height of the pandemic, we began our partnership with Centrepoint, one of the UK’s youth homelessness charity and launched gift cards and designer edits with 10% of the value of every purchase donated to Centrepoint by LuxDeco on behalf of our customers.
LM: What is the one thing people can do in interior design that can help change the look of their homes?
JH: Our Lead Designer, Joanne Quinn, says that introducing a new focal point in a room is a great way to make a change. This could be the purchase of a new large piece of furniture, the creation of a gallery wall, or the addition of a statement rug.
LM: Going into 2022, what should we be focusing on to make changes to our homes?
JH: That is hard as trends come and go, but expertly made products and great design will always be admired.
LM: What is the future looking like for LuxDeco?
JH: Our vision is to connect the world of luxury interiors by providing inspiring and effortless retail experiences to millions of customers across the globe. Digital innovation is a key focus for me, and LuxDeco’s success is based very much on how we use data science, proprietary algorithms, and expert curators to analyse product data.
This approach enables us to offer our customers a curated selection of products from our premium brands and a hyper-personalised shopping experience. We also utilise powerful personal shopping technology, applications, and software to allow our brands and partners to build their e-commerce on top of our technology and services. 2022 marks our 10-year anniversary, so we have some big plans in the pipeline that I am excited to share – but not yet!
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