Enriching the Lives of Customers
For the last 47 years, King Living has been at the forefront of Australian furniture design, with innovation, quality and comfort as its hallmarks. Here, RLI caught up with current CEO David Woollcott to learn more about how a business that is proud of its past and excited about its future, plans to continue on its international expansion plan.
The story behind King Living begins with its Founder David King and his mother, Gwen. Starting out by making foam chairs in the 1970s, David had a bolder vision to create furniture that lasts a lifetime rather than simply ending up in landfill after a few years.
This led to the brand’s early implementation of the steel-framed sofa. David also saw an opportunity to implement designs that were truly modular and that could adapt to new lifestyle needs, like moving to a new home and upsizing or downsizing to an apartment. This philosophy of sustainable design and adaptable living remains at the core of King Living’s values.
A global brand with showrooms in Australia, the US and Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia, the brand say they are just getting started. Today they have over 30 retail locations, with many more in the pipeline at various locations and stages of development.
“This year was a real milestone for us – in the first quarter, we opened our first showroom in the US, the largest furniture market in the world. The flagship showroom is located strategically in the heart of Orange County at the premier shopping destination, SOCO & The OC Mix,” explains David Woollcott, CEO of King Living. “Meanwhile in June, we opened a second showroom in Canada, located in Calgary. This is another significant milestone in our global expansion strategy. These showrooms are a testament to our commitment to future brick-and-mortar growth.”
As he looks forward, Woollcott explains that it is truly the most exciting time in the history of the brand. They have significant retail and logistics developments in Chicago, Toronto, Portland, London, Sydney and Melbourne. These are set to open before the end of 2025, taking the company to almost 40 showrooms globally in eight markets.
“We are always researching new markets – the US for example was many years in the making. We are fortunate to be a vertically integrated company without shareholders to influence how and when we expand. We will keep growing and expanding at a pace that is sustainable and makes the most sense for our teams and our future,” Woollcott highlights.
As a designer, manufacturer and retailer, the company feels it has a built-in edge over its competitors before they even begin developing prototypes. With decades of experience behind them, they do not simply make a design and move on. The ethos of continual improvement is a direct result of the Founder’s initial desire to make furniture that lasts. They are always looking for ways to evolve their designs and innovate as new technology becomes available.
As we move into the subject of social media, the CEO highlights that it is an essential, on-going part of their content strategy. That it is how they show their customers what their furniture looks like in real-world settings. The business also works closely with influencers and design professionals who align with their brand values to expand their reach. Woollcott feels that storytelling is all about connection and social media lets brands do this in a more authentic way.
“Our biggest challenges moving forward are maintaining our pace of product innovation and expansion and finding the right people while continuing to scale the business globally.”
From its humble beginnings, King Living has always prioritised sustainable design and its furniture is built to stand the test of time, starting with a robust steel frame.
“Our modular sofas adapt to changing lifestyles, while removable covers make it easy to wash, repair or replace through our King Care service. In a recent step to strengthen our sustainability initiatives, we launched an online outlet in Australia, aiming to reduce the amount of furniture sent to landfill,” says Woollcott.
They are also enhancing their efforts towards a circular economy by tracking how much product is repurposed, reused or donated. Meanwhile in the future, they are committed to evaluating their global CO2 footprint and revising their packaging to minimise waste further.
The ethos of King Living revolves around better living and enriching their customers’ lives. It is this vision that drives them, knowing that their work contributes to how people enjoy their homes and it is what leads them to continually innovate. This philosophy drives everything the company does, from product development to customer service as its teams look to challenge the status quo.
Before our time with the CEO runs out, we ask him, what is the biggest challenge laying ahead for the brand?
“Our biggest challenges moving forward are maintaining our pace of product innovation and expansion and finding the right people while continuing to scale the business globally. As we expand into new markets, ensuring the consistency of our brand experience and navigating supply chain and process complexities will be crucial. It is all about growing at the right pace while getting the foundations properly set up,” Woollcott concludes.
