Emily Wells, Online Content and Brand Manager at Out & Out, reflects on reaching an historic company milestone.
This year marked a special milestone for ecommerce home and garden furniture retailer Out & Out. The company reached 10 years in business back in April but is yet to officially celebrate due to being busier than ever before in its history. “We received our first order on 6th April 2013,” Emily revealed. “This year we have been working hard on a number of exciting projects, with spring and summer by far our busiest period, so we haven’t officially celebrated as a team yet, but hopefully we will soon.
“Sustaining a business for 10 years, during a pandemic and in the midst of the current cost-of-living crisis is an achievement that the whole team are very proud of. Time has gone by quickly but we’ve learned a lot along the way and are as excited as ever for the future.”
Emily continued: “There have been many memorable moments over the years, including our first order being up there as it was obviously a very significant moment in our journey, but one of the things that still means the most to us is when we receive a 5* review from a customer, explaining why they chose us and how pleased they are. This still provides great satisfaction for us, from day one to 10 years later!”
Like most, if not all, businesses, Out & Out has had to overcome a number of obstacles, none more challenging than recent times of Covid and the subsequent, and ongoing, impact the pandemic has left. However, the business looked to reframe the mindset of a challenge and turn it into an opportunity, as Emily explains: “The pandemic was both an opportunity and a challenge for us as a furniture retailer. Like many, we experienced unprecedented demand due to people spending more time at home.
“With manufacturing facilities and shipping severely impacted, it has been challenging both to fulfil this demand and continue sustainable growth in the years that have followed, but we have pulled together as a team and tried to face every challenge by putting the customer first.”
Emily added that being competitive and investing within the business has been key to its continued growth. “We aim to provide prices that are as competitive as possible without compromising quality. In the current climate, giving customers value for money is more important than ever and we try our best to do that.
“User-generated content has also been very powerful for us. We can post our professional, styled images of our products but it’s the photos of other happy customer’s furniture in real homes that really encourage people to shop with us.
“After upgrading our website in June 2022, we are continuing to grow the business with plenty of exciting plans for the rest of the year, as well as moving into 2024. We hope to sustain the growth we have enjoyed in recent years and continue to get bigger and better.”
Touching on the “exciting plans”, these include a new TikTok shop to further maximise content creation and a newly launched partnership with Panther Logistics to scale its delivery offering in preparation for further growth, while next year will see the brand enter the American market.
“We just recently launched next day delivery as standard, which we’re very excited about.,” Emily said. “Over the years the business has evolved to meet the needs of the modern-day consumer and scaling our delivery offering to ensure it met those demands was fundamental to our growth plans.
“Following our first meeting with Panther we recognised that they ticked a number of boxes, especially with regard to our ability to grow with them and the fact they had the capacity to handle our entire delivery, warehousing and fulfilment requirements.”
As part of the partnership, Panther will be collecting Out & Out stock as it arrives into port and holding it at their brand-new 225,000sqft warehousing facility in Swindon, from which they will be managing the entire fulfilment operation on behalf of the online retailer. On the US expansion, Emily continued: “In another big milestone for us, we hope to launch in the US in the early part of 2024. The US is a huge market with a lot of potential and opportunity, as many US homes enjoy a large outdoor space so it’s a great place to launch our US outdoor brand.”
Alongside expansion plans, Emily says sustainability and keeping on top of emerging trends is key to the company too. “Modular furniture is very popular at the moment. Customers enjoy the option to build something that suits their space and can grow with them, whether it’s an indoor sofa or outdoor garden set.
“We also always try to keep sustainability in mind as we feel it’s our obligation as a furniture retailer. Our wooden outdoor products are FSC certified and we also recently launched a collection of outdoor furniture made entirely of recycled consumer plastic. In the past, we have also partnered with WeForest to help fund the planting of 5,000 trees. We’re excited about the next phase of our growth and, of course, the next 10 years of Out & Out.”
