Designers Guild
Designers Guild is an international home and lifestyle company with a flagship store and showrooms on the Kings Road and Marylebone High Street in London, and offices in London, Paris and Munich.
Designers Guild designs and wholesales furnishing fabric, wall coverings, upholstery and bed and bath collections throughout Europe, and in over 40 countries worldwide.
Designers Guild History
Tricia Guild founded Designers Guild in 1970.[1] The company is jointly owned by Tricia Guild, founder and Creative director and her brother Simon Jeffreys, Chief Executive.
Structure
The Designers Guild group employs over 280 people in the UK and overseas offices in Munich and Paris. 250 are in the UK, a 66,000 sq ft (6,100 m2) distribution centre and 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2) purpose built head office are both situated in West London.
Development
Turnover has grown rapidly over the past 20 years from less than £3 million to over £50 million [2] selling to interior designers, department stores, retailers and the hotel and contract market. The largest single market is the UK, with sales overseas being conducted through key Designers Guild showrooms and operating centres in France, Germany and Italy with agents and distributors operating elsewhere across Europe and Worldwide. There are Designers Guild showrooms in London, Paris, Munich and New York [3] with further Designers Guild areas in over 60 showrooms across the world including all of Europe to New York City, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Sydney.
Designers Guild also has a UK and United States online shop, offering bedlinen and a selection of home accessories, cushions, blankets, throws and rugs.
The Collections
Designers Guild collections offer a broad and vast range of luxury furnishing fabrics and wall coverings including Designers Guild Kids and ‘Essentials’; a massive library of plain fabrics, for both domestic and contract sectors. The range of luxury products as well as furnishing fabrics and wall coverings includes furniture, bed and bath, home fragrance and accessories. The studio, headed by Tricia Guild, has produced designs from such diverse inspiration as Eastern decorative art, Italian architecture and classical documents.
In addition to the Designers Guild collections the company designs and manufactures under license William Yeoward Fabrics and Paper and is also the European and Middle East distributor for Ralph Lauren Fabric and Wallpaper. In 2011, Designers Guild launched a further license for the iconic international luxury brand Christian Lacroix.[4]
In September 2008 Designers Guild launched under license from the ‘Royal Collection’ a division of the Royal household, the Royal Collection Fabrics and Wallpapers. A collection inspired by the interiors of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and by the official archive of art in the Royal Collection.
Awards
- 1991: Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.
- 1992: The Export Award for Smaller Businesses.
- 1996: Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.[5]
- 2008: PricewaterhouseCoopers Profit Track 100 – Britain’s fastest profit-
- 2008: Growth firms: Designers Guild awarded 22nd place.
- 2008: Microsoft award for Best Use of Technology.[6]
- 2008: Freshest New Website Award
- 2009: Pricewaterhouse Coopers Profit Track 100 – Britain’s fastest profit Growth firms - company secures a place for the second consecutive year
- 2010: Best British Brand awarded by Elle Decoration UK [7]
References
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/8663091/Celebrity-Gardeners-Tricia-Guilds-garden.html
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/interiorsandshopping/8509117/Tricia-Guilds-top-tips-for-inside-your-home.html
- ↑ http://www.hfnmag.com/textiles/designers-guild-opens-new-showroom-tabs-newman-head-sales/
- ↑ http://es.homesandproperty.co.uk/your_home_and_garden/shopping_and_design_news/interiorstrendsmaisonetobjet2011.html
- ↑ PRnewswire.co.uk
- ↑ http://www.styletech.co.uk/awards/designersguild
- ↑ http://www.thebritishdesignawards.com/2010/2010winner-bestbritishdesignbrand.html
External links
- Company Website
- London Town
- Shop of the Week, Homes and Gardens
- Christian-lacroix.fr
- Interview with The Mail on Sunday thisismoney.co.uk