King Living ups the ante in North America with its first store in US

Eight years after making a move into international markets, upmarket Australian furniture group King Living is about to open its first retail showroom in the US with plans to grow its presence even further in North America.

King Living, a family-owned company founded by David King in 1977, is set to open its flagship US showroom in Orange County, California, before the end of this year and already has laid plans for a second US store – this time in Chicago.

The vertically integrated furniture group which currently operates 28 stores globally, first ventured into international markets in 2015 with a push into Singapore and New Zealand. It now operates more than a third of its network outside of Australia with planned store openings set to lift this to about 50 per cent within a year.  

The company, which has already established a North American beachhead in Vancouver, Canada, has undertaken a fairly aggressive offshore growth strategy since then with moves into China, Malaysia and the UK.

King Living CEO David Woollcott says the North American expansion, which includes a second Canadian store in Calgary next year, is the beginning of further growth of the store network across key global markets.

“Our growing international showroom portfolio is a testament to our products and people and paves the way forward to becoming a 100-year brand,” Woollcott says.

“We are thrilled to enter the United States and look forward to seeing our North American presence grow."

Woollcott says the US showroom debut is backed by the company’s success in offshore markets, with its UK store located in London’s Tottenham Court Road consistently ranked among its top three showrooms globally.

“This isn’t about growth for growth’s sake, this is about our belief that we will improve the lives of customers who choose our furniture; we are passionate about bringing our designs and our engineering to those who appreciate the King difference,” Woollcott says.

Over the past 46 years, King Design has developed a reputation for creating quality furniture with a range that includes sofas, dining tables, beds, mattress, and outdoor collections. Many of the furniture designs are renowned for incorporating engineered steel frames.

However, the business had humble beginnings with origins as a family business when King teamed up with his mother Gwen to make lounge chairs out of their Sydney home that they would sell at Paddy’s Markets.

David King says despite the rapid pace of global expansion, King Living remains true to its roots of creating furniture with an Australian flair - a key point of difference as it hits the Californian market this year.

“After decades of research, we’ve crafted a space that aims to both inspire Californian residents as well as reflect our inherent dedication to authentic Australian design,” King says.

The company points to architectural similarities to Australia, as well as ‘synergies in mindset and appreciation of an indoor-outdoor lifestyle’, for its decision to tackle the California market first in the US.

“The United States is key to the King Living global expansion strategy and the market provides us with an unparalleled growth opportunity,” Woollcott says.

“We have a reputation for our unwavering commitment to timeless design and dedication to continually crafting innovative furniture that sets us apart from our global competitors.”

King Living is a vertically integrated business with end-to-end control over the design, manufacturing, distribution and retailing of its products. The company owns and operates manufacturing facilities in Australia, Thailand and China.