Furniturebox co-founders Monty George and Dan Beckles unloading pallets
Furniturebox has transformed ecommerce dispatch times with a late 8pm cut off for next day deliveries.
The disrupter brand – based at a new 88,000 square metre warehouse next to the M4 – is offering what is believed to be the latest next day delivery time on bulkier items ordered online.
Furniturebox – founded by two 17-year-old school friends just eight years ago – has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the UK’s fastest growing top 100 private companies for the past two years
Sales last year were £15.9 million and profits were £2.4 million – and the Chippenham-based firm has achieved 70% growth over the last three years.
A key part of that success has been free, super fast next day deliveries.
Co-founder Monty George, 26, said: “People don’t expect furniture quickly. It is one of the slowest-moving retail sectors to get with the ‘eCommerce times’. We’re helping to change that – Furniturebox is the industry disrupter. We believe in an exceptional customer experience, and speed of delivery is part of that.
“We were aware of a bit of a gap in the market for free next-day delivery with a later cut-off time, so we wanted to meet that demand and better help our existing and new customers get that luxury experience without the hefty price tag. We really believe that having your dream home should be accessible for everyone and want to offer the ultimate service and delivery experience. Life’s too short to be sitting around waiting for furniture.”
Furniturebox is offering the 8pm next day delivery cut off for most parts of the UK and will meet the deadline on locations as far away as Dundee which is 427 miles from the Wiltshire head-quarters. Scotland and the North East covers 16% of orders.
It means new home owners can move into their property and kit it out the next day with immediate deliveries.
George said: “We are yet to find a company that can do the large parcel and multi-box next-day delivery quicker than we can. We can’t be certain that we’re the only ones, but we’re definitely part of a small number at the innovative cutting edge of ecommerce, especially for the bigger bulkier items.”
Furniturebox funded the new £3 million warehouse HQ at St Modwen Park from existing profits.
All orders are delivered by couriers from the warehouse which has quick access to main distribution links.
Furniturebox’s Warehouse Management System means orders can be placed at 7.59pm, processed, picked and loaded onto a van in less than 15 minutes.
Netflix star Chloe Veitch – who has appeared in the hit show Too Hot To Handle – is one of thousands of customers who have benefited from Furniturebox’s super quick deliveries.
She posted on Instagram after ordering a Leonardo glass and chrome dining table and chairs, saying: “I ordered it 24 hours ago and it’s already here. This is my happy place, it feels like home.”
The 8pm cut off was trialled for a month between May and June this year and was achieved with 97% of orders. Revenue increased by 17% over the month and conversion rate was up by 5.88%.
Extra staff have been taken on to make it even more efficient and the next day delivery on all products which are not made-to-order is now permanent.
Co-founder Dan Beckles, 25, said: “We’ve got the infrastructure in place with our couriers, our tech and our team – this will be a pillar ‘unique selling point’ for us that will remain a core part of what Furniturebox offers to its customers. We don’t envisage it being difficult to sustain in the long run.We’ve tested the stability of the service and wouldn’t want to roll it out permanently if we weren’t confident it will work for us.”
