The kbbreview Interview // Susie Townsend
Q&A
How do you see the overall health of the market at the moment? I think it’s an interesting marketplace because of the breadth within it. You’ve got a real mix – nationals, value, premium, luxury, and then a huge independent sector, even down to virtual designers. In some ways it reminds me of the baby market I used to work in because of that diversity. The challenge is how all of that works in synergy, because there are parts of this industry that feel very familiar from a retail perspective, and then there are other parts that are completely unique. In terms of the health of the market, I’d describe it as flat. There isn’t a huge sense of momentum or disruption. Some people have raised the lack of innovation and buzz, and I’d agree with that. There aren’t enough disruptors pushing the category forward. At the same time, I do understand why, because economically it’s tough and there are a lot of businesses struggling. So it’s quite polarised – some are doing well, others are under real pressure, and a lot of it comes down to how proactive and disciplined they are.
What did you see when you first joined Harvey Jones? I saw a fantastic brand built on fantastic heritage, but it was sleeping. That was my honest assessment. There was so much strength in the name and so much talent within the business, but it wasn’t fully alive in the way it should have been. It wasn’t a lack of capability. The industry has talent, and Harvey Jones had talent. But it needed more energy, more innovation and, to be frank, more disruption. It also needed to look at some of the basics. Not just the front end, like the showrooms and how the brand presents itself, but also the infrastructure behind it. There are some wider industry challenges as well. As a manufacturer, we’re dealing with labour shortages and a lack of apprentices coming through. That’s not unique to Harvey Jones, but it’s something the industry doesn’t always come together to address. And yet it’s fundamental if you’re thinking long term about growth and sustainability.
What have been the major strategic changes since the acquisition? A big part of it has been modernising the showroom estate. That’s critical because clients still want that physical experience. They want to touch, feel and engage. They want to meet a designer. That’s what differentiates this category. But it’s not about rolling out a single template everywhere. If you look at Chester, which was our first showroom in the programme, and then compare it to, say, Henley, you’ll see the Harvey Jones DNA, but you’ll also see evolution. That’s deliberate. The brand has to feel consistent, but it also has to move forward. At the same time, we’ve been stabilising the business while also growing it. Those two things have happened concurrently. We’ve also worked closely with partners who understand our brand and client, but who can also help us innovate and leap forward. That balance is important, retaining the heritage while introducing newness, exclusivity and surprise.
What is the core idea behind the new showroom concept? When I came in, I looked at the showrooms through the eyes of a client. I walked in thinking, “This is where I should fall in love.” And too often that wasn’t happening. It felt quite flat – in colour, in presentation, in inspiration. But consumers today expect excitement. So Chester became our starting point. We took what we felt was the core Harvey Jones demographic and tested it in a showroom that matched that profile. Then we tested different formats – Bicester, which behaves very differently because of its location and shopping patterns, and Heals, which was a concession model. Those three together gave us a really strong data set on how the brand performs in different environments. Chester did exactly what we hoped. It had the right location, the right client base, strong frontage and strong footfall. And our best conversions always come from showroom interactions, so that matters hugely.
What did you learn from those trials? That retail disciplines really matter, even in a category like this. These are not traditional retail spaces in the purest sense, because the customer journey is longer and more consultative, but they are still retail environments. One of the biggest changes we made was around space utilisation. Some showrooms had lost 40–45% of their space to desks, which meant customers couldn’t access it. That simply doesn’t make sense. So we redesigned layouts, improved navigation and made sure every part
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kbbreview
May 2026
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