{"id":45475,"date":"2014-12-10T14:19:46","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T14:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startups.co.uk\/startups-awards\/?p=45475"},"modified":"2021-05-25T08:55:57","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T07:55:57","slug":"independent-shop-of-the-year-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/startups.co.uk\/startups-awards\/independent-shop-of-the-year-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent Shop of the Year 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45489\" alt=\"SG-0079\" src=\"https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/12\/Startups-Awards-2014-Independent-Shop-of-the-Year-Seriously-Sofas.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/12\/Startups-Awards-2014-Independent-Shop-of-the-Year-Seriously-Sofas.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/12\/Startups-Awards-2014-Independent-Shop-of-the-Year-Seriously-Sofas-320x195.jpg 320w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/12\/Startups-Awards-2014-Independent-Shop-of-the-Year-Seriously-Sofas-200x122.jpg 200w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/12\/Startups-Awards-2014-Independent-Shop-of-the-Year-Seriously-Sofas-525x320.jpg 525w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\"><\/p>\n<p><b>Start-up name:<\/b> Seriously Sofas<br><b>Founder:<\/b> Ruth Jones, 49, Andrew Jones, 52<br><b>Started in:<\/b> 2011<br><b>Based in:<\/b> Kingston upon Thames<br><b>Business description:<\/b> Upholstery retail and trade specialists<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-44662 alignright\" alt=\"seriouslysofas\" src=\"https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas-320x140.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas-320x140.jpg 320w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas-640x281.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas-200x88.jpg 200w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas-768x337.jpg 768w, https:\/\/images.startups.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/seriouslysofas.jpg 1208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\">Made in Britain, showcased in Kingston, sold in Europe and across the world. Seriously Sofas is one seriously impressive independent shop.<\/p>\n<p>So it&rsquo;s fitting the furniture business started by husband and wife team Andrew and Ruth Jones, triumphed as the inaugural Independent Shop of the Year winner at the 2014 Startups Awards.<\/p>\n<p>To beat Cocoba, a chocolate-themed caf&eacute; successfully operating out of Bluewater shopping centre, and multi-million pound revenue business The iOutlet, which has two walk-in shops in Plymouth and re-sells thousands of iPhones in over 40 countries via eBay, was no mean feat.<\/p>\n<p>But keeping up with the Jones&rsquo; is never easy for anyone! With a combined 30 years&rsquo; retailing experience, including 10 years at Harrods and the rest managing upholstery manufacturers and retails, it&rsquo;s fair to say the judges loved this business.<\/p>\n<p>Early success led to the company taking up a larger showroom for its hand-crafted, British-made and affordable furniture.<\/p>\n<p>And since launch in 2011, Seriously Sofas has begun selling to customers as far afield as the US, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n<p>The Jones&rsquo; experience of and relationships with independent upholsterers has ensured that every piece can be customised according to the customers&rsquo; fabric wishes and made-to-measure to fit a space.<\/p>\n<p>This level of customer service &ndash; a huge USP &ndash; along with rapid revenue growth, use of domestic independent suppliers, and the launch of contemporary products in compact designs to fit demand for apartment living, meant that in the judges&rsquo; eyes there could only be one winner. Their record to date? Sofa, so good!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Start-up name: Seriously SofasFounder: Ruth Jones, 49, Andrew Jones, 52Started in: 2011Based in: Kingston upon ThamesBusiness description: Upholstery retail and trade specialists Made in Britain, showcased in Kingston, sold in Europe and across the world. Seriously Sofas is one seriously impressive independent shop. So it&rsquo;s fitting the furniture business started by husband and wife team [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91469,"featured_media":45524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,205],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winners","category-winners-2014"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Independent Shop of the Year 2014 - Startups.co.uk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/startups.co.uk\/startups-awards\/independent-shop-of-the-year-2014\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Independent Shop of the Year 2014 - Startups.co.uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Start-up name: Seriously SofasFounder: Ruth Jones, 49, Andrew Jones, 52Started in: 2011Based in: Kingston upon ThamesBusiness description: Upholstery retail and trade specialists Made in Britain, showcased in Kingston, sold in Europe and across the world. 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