In our Instagram posts we talk about ‘aiming for iconic’. But iconic is a really big word. Possibly one of those overused words that devalues the real meaning. Are we just using big words for the sake of marketing?! It doesn’t sit very well with our passion for integrity.

#aimforiconic #RLintegrity

Image credit of Mistral sofa: Heal’s

If we are honest with ourselves, we can only point to the Mistral – Heal’s best-seller for 14 years – as a piece that could really claim the ‘iconic’ badge. But that doesn’t stop us dreaming of producing more iconic designs and creating a truly iconic business: a brand that people are passionate about, that our team are proud of, that our customers and clients are obsessed and in love with. As Jim Collins (author of many iconic business books!) says, we need Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Well here is ours…

Roger Lewis will be THE iconic British contemporary designer maker. If you are about having beautiful proportions, detailing, integrity and quality in your home you have Roger Lewis in your life.

But what is an iconic British brand?! If you google ‘iconic British brands’ you get the headline from Mashable.com…

“Iconic ‘British’ brands that aren’t even British anymore!”

(How dare they!!!) On further investigation though, iconic quality British brands are a list of traditional names with traditional heritages: Holland & Holland, Land Rover, Bentley, Mulberry, Burberry, Hunter. You can almost see the smoking jacket, wellies and traditional country house complete with leather Chesterfield sofa. British iconic and traditional go hand in hand, but being modern, fresh, dynamic, British and iconic is a harder path to walk.

The truth is that we are a 30-year-old business that no one knows about. We are one of the best kept secrets in Britain. Our core business is making private label sofas for British retailers that are curators of quality. While we are very proud of this and the clients we work with, being a British manufacturer is a very tough business.

We need to grow (on top of our existing fantastic business) to compete and thrive. It’s a long road from here to there but we have the beginnings of a plan. To get there we must answer the following questions:

• How do we make life easy and enjoyable for everyone who deals with us?
• How do we ensure retail buyers, designers, specifiers and interiors aficionados love what we do?!
• How do we inspire our team so they continue to be creative and make beautiful products year after year?

Over the coming months we will talk about the path we are walking, the designs we are launching and the service we are providing. We will tell you about what we do (and don’t!) love. We can’t wait to get started on the next phase of our growth and we hope you come along for the ride!

We would love to hear your thoughts, comments and questions. Please leave a comment below, DM us on Insta or get in touch at cs@rogerlewis.uk. Like we said, our doors are always open.