Where is the best place to open a London furniture showroom?

London is a very important city to showcase furniture from British, mainland European and indeed worldwide brands and manufacturers.

Taking on a showroom is a serious financial undertaking, so you need to make sure you open it in the best place for your business.

If you are thinking of buying or renting a showroom, where should you look?

Prime areas for London Furniture Showrooms

The main areas for furniture showrooms in London are Clerkenwell, the West End and Chelsea. Despite being only a few miles / km apart, these areas are very different.

While Clerkenwell was originally a lot cheaper than the West End, this is no longer necessarily the case and finding the right location for your business to thrive is more important than choosing an area by rent alone.

History of Furniture Showrooms in London

At one time, the majority of leading furniture showrooms were based in the West End, where increasing rents led to a search for alternatives.

Clerkenwell was a neglected area, although there was an artistic / creative feel with the Goldsmiths Centre, the UK’s leading charity for the professional training of goldsmiths in the heart of the area and the famous jewellery area of Hatton Garden close by.

The arrival of prestige commercial furniture suppliers like Steelcase and Vitra to Clerkenwell was followed by many other companies. This led to Clerkenwell becoming a ‘furniture village’.

In fact Vitra have recently moved from Clerkenwell to nearby Shoreditch; while rents there are cheaper, only a destination brand can risk going this far off-pitch at the moment.

How do I know where my showroom should be?

The first question to ask is who is your customer. Are you selling business to business (B2B)? Are your clients office companies or architects looking for products to fill their new buildings? If so, Clerkenwell is likely to be the right area for you.

If you are selling to directly to residential clients who want to furnish their home or to interior designers acting on their behalf, then the West End or Chelsea will probably be better for you, as consumers are more likely in these areas.

Where is Clerkenwell and why is it good for furniture?

Clerkenwell and its close neighbour Farringdon, are in the London EC1 postcode, short for ‘East Central’. The ‘furniture village’ is centred on the area around the junction of St John Street and Clerkenwell Road.

Lying to the north and a little to the West of the City of London, the nearest London Terminus is Kings Cross / St Pancras, from where the Thameslink goes north and south straight through the capital, mainline trains head to the north of England and the Eurostar can take you easily to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and other key European destinations.

Here in Clerkenwell and Farringdon will find world-leading manufacturers of desks, technical fabrics, chairs, flooring and so on. This close proximity means that architects and designers can take their clients around to see many different brands and products in a single trip.

The Clerkenwell / Farringdon area is also a pleasant place to work with its range of creative businesses and many eating options from relaxed street food and cafés to more upmarket establishments such as Vinoteca and the French Bistro at Bleeding Heart Yard. The area is well served by public transport, which is set to improve further when the Elizabeth Line of London Underground opens.

Bisley, synonymous with storage, while selling some products direct to consumer, is mainly a supplier of commercial furniture and is one of the businesses we have relocated from the West End to Clerkenwell.

Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world.

Clerkenwell Design Week

Held annually in May

Why have a Furniture Showroom in the West End?

London’s West End has long been renowned as a superb area for retail of all descriptions. The furniture showrooms tend to be around Great Portland Street, just to the north of Oxford Street.

Here the clientele is mainly people seeking to furnish their own house or apartment or interior designers looking to meet a client’s brief. As with Clerkenwell, the proximity of this type of business means that people can see a good number of different options in one visit.

Although other retailers bring footfall to the West End, they also bring competition for good retail space, which can push rents up.

What is special about furniture in Chelsea?

Chelsea Harbour is an area in South West London that was developed in 1986 / 7 and includes the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, a showcase for industry professionals. Adjacent is Lots Road, also famed for antique shops, which joins the Kings Road, where both interior designers and homeowners can shop for rugs, lamps and more.

Christopher Farr, home of designer rugs, and Christopher Farr Cloth are based in this area, serving interior designers as well as the residents of Chelsea, Wandsworth and beyond.

Showrooms here tend to be small and exclusive.

Why are showrooms difficult to find?

Showrooms normally need a ground floor presence with big windows. Even if you include ground or basement accommodation for offices, showroom occupiers only take on around 20% of available space in a building, competing with offices, restaurants, retail and hotels for prime locations.

The shortage of spaces for showrooms in these prime areas means that expert help in anticipating premises coming to the market or off-market options as well as negotiating fair rent and best lease terms is very important.

Newcomers to London

We have worked with many newcomers to the area, particularly businesses from Spain, Germany and Scandinavia as well as companies from the USA who seek to establish their first UK showroom.

Our service includes a walking tour of the most suitable area to ensure that you feel comfortable with the location and to help you see how far your budget will go.

February 2022