How Sofa Club and Shopify are disrupting the furniture industry with speed and style

Founded by Louis Rose and Tom Oneill, Sofa Club first began life in 2012. Since those early days, they’ve undergone profound growth – expanding from a small company selling budget sofas to a household name providing premium fashion for the home.

In 2018, Sofa Club moved to Shopify Plus, recognising that a scalable and agile platform was key to evolving into a true direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand. What followed was a remarkable transformation. In the wake of a global pandemic and a full rebrand, Sofa Club have grown from a £20 million operation into a business projected to hit £55 million in revenue this year. 

This success is only more remarkable for the personal adversity that co-founder and visionary Louis Rose and his family have faced after Louis was diagnosed with cancer in 2023. While in treatment, he’s continued supporting the business, advocating for others battling disease and driving fundraising efforts. 

With Louis acting as an inspiration to colleagues at Sofa Club and beyond, the team have rallied and the brand is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, with Shopify they’ve achieved: 

• £55 million in revenue forecast for 2025
• 4.8 Trustpilot rating with 14,000 reviews 
• 55% increase in average order value

The Challenge: Streamlining the customer journey

As Sofa Club scaled, their original systems and processes began to show strain. Even after moving the ecommerce platform to Shopify they were still managing other fragmented systems. In particular, a custom-built logistics tool which sat outside of Shopify that limited visibility and automation. According to Leigh Rose, E-Commerce Director, this made it difficult to deliver a truly unified customer journey.

Streamlining logistics for the business and their customers was urgent. The UK sofa industry is infamously slow, with customers often waiting 12 weeks for delivery. Sofa Club wanted to flip that and offer delivery the next day. But to make that promise a reality, the business needed complete control over inventory, fulfilment and customer touchpoints. 

In parallel, Sofa Club’s brand perception needed to evolve. Originally positioned as a fast-turnaround, budget sofa retailer, the company wanted to step into a more aspirational space, blending lifestyle with luxury while maintaining responsiveness. 

The Solution: Unified commerce and smoother processes 

Building on the foundations laid by their migration to Shopify, the next step in their journey began in 2021, following a full rebrand and operational evolution.

Over an 18-month period, Sofa Club worked to fully integrate their logistics, returns, customer service, and marketing tools with Shopify. This marked a significant shift in how the business operated. Instead of relying on their own internal system for post-sale processes, the team reoriented Shopify as the source of truth. 

Orders, returns, refunds, swaps – everything now lives within the Shopify ecosystem with data easily accessible through Shopify Analytics. By connecting existing systems with APIs to Shopify, any updates made on their backend to product inventory – for example, new dimensions – are instantly pulled into the product pages so everything is accurate without the need for manual updates. 

The company also invested heavily in tools that added value for customers. A custom-built delivery date picker at checkout enables shoppers to choose exactly when their sofa will arrive, including next-day options. Integration with AR platform Cylindo, meanwhile, allows users to visualise sofas in their living spaces via 3D models and augmented reality built right into Sofa Club’s site. “It shows people the real size and texture before they buy,” Leigh explains. “Returns fell. Cancellations dropped by around 75%. It was a game changer.”

Behind the scenes, Shopify’s connection to Klaviyo is helping Sofa Club build smarter email journeys. Instead of blanket marketing, the brand began segmenting audiences based on product views, browsing behaviour and delivery triggers – something previously impossible due to disconnected systems.

Finally, with showroom expansion on the roadmap, Sofa Club is preparing to implement Shopify POS at their bricks-and-mortar locations later this year – completing their transition into a fully unified commerce business. 

The Results: Skyrocketing revenue, glowing customer feedback

With an impactful rebrand and the depth of Shopify’s platform, Sofa Club have achieved transformational results. Annual revenue doubled to approximately £40 million in 2024, with Sofa Club now tracking to reach £55 million by the end of 2025. Year-on-year sales are up by over 40%. 

Crucially, customers are also feeling the difference: Trustpilot ratings have surged to 4.8 out of 5, with over 15,000 verified reviews. According to Leigh, what makes this even more meaningful is the diversity of the feedback. “People leave reviews about the showroom staff, our warehouse team, delivery drivers, online support – it’s across the board. That shows the whole system is working,” he says. 

Email marketing has also seen a radical uplift. Working with a new agency and leveraging Klaviyo’s integration with Shopify, Sofa Club increased their open rates from 20% to over 70%. 

Customers who bought entry-level sofas five years ago are returning as homeowners or parents – purchasing premium pieces or nursery chairs, and bringing friends and family with them. Shopify’s data tools have made this lifecycle visible and actionable.

Operationally, the brand now maintains real-time visibility across their warehouses using Airtable synced with Shopify APIs. This ensures that when customers select next-day delivery, stock is correctly allocated without manual errors. “The whole delivery promise only works if our stock allocation system works,” Leigh said. “And Shopify is a huge part of making that happen.”

Continuing to evolve 

Just like their business, Sofa Club’s ambitions are continuing to scale. The next 12 months will see the rollout of Shopify POS in physical locations, expansion of AI-driven automation and even more sophisticated personalisation. They’ll continue investing in their core strengths: speed, convenience and style.

In parallel to the brand shifting its focus from budget offerings to timeless quality furniture, with Shopify Sofa Club is crafting a truly premium customer experience that’s built to last.