In 1979, Zinus’ founder, Youn Jae Lee, started making tents in South Korea. Eventually, he moved Zinus into the home, and has provided mattresses and furniture for more than 25 million customers in over 15 countries. Zinus prides itself on offering products that are “easy to afford, assemble and enjoy”. Zinus entered the EU in 2020, and has doubled in turnover each year since, says the president of Zinus EU, Anders Kloster …
Why visit your website?
In addition to our products, we are working to constantly update our room inspiration so customers can envision how they can create a beautiful home with Zinus products. We also create and curate blogs – we develop sleep guides, home decor guides and much more to help our customers through their sleep or home design journey.
How did you enter this industry?
I worked for many years in the toy industry, and soon after entered the children’s furniture industry. I’m happy to have the opportunity to work within the full furniture industry at my current role at Zinus.
Who is your ecommerce hero?
Ecommerce is so multi-faceted, covering so many industries, so I tend follow a handful of experts within various fields.
Describe a typical working day …
I like to have a healthy balance between meeting with my team and external business partners, and time to do individual tasks (such as prep time, going through emails, browsing various ecommerce sites within furniture to get ideas and inspiration, etc).
What part of your job would you prefer to avoid?
With so much going on in and around our business, I would like to avoid any unproductive sessions with no clear output. With the industry moving so quickly, we have to be very action orientated in everything we do.
What has been your greatest challenge to date?
Prioritisation has been a big challenge, as Zinus has the opportunity to become the best-loved ecommerce furniture brand in Europe – just as we have developed in other markets. It is a challenge to have a clear single focus, whether it be categories, customer, or market expansion, as we want to do everything – but need to continue to prioritise to do things right.
How much do you invest in making your site more visible?
We are currently investing in SEO to ensure we maximise our organic traffic, and will soon be investing in search engine marketing (SEM) to target high-volume keywords around the bedroom and mattress industry. Additionally, we have investments in social media, using creative and breakthrough media to educate consumers about our products and brands, and bring them to our website – which is non transactional, as we focus on driving traffic to our business partners’ websites.
What’s your take on how the relationship between online and physical retail might develop?
It is becoming more omnichannel. I don’t think there will only be one or the other. Ecommerce is taking a big share of the market now, as people are much more comfortable purchasing products online, for the convenience and easier searchability.
At the same time, there is still value in seeing products in person. I believe more and more online-only brands will participate in physical retail, whether it be selling in some physical locations or showcasing their products.
Do you have any plans to grow your business?
We are in a rapid growth phase and want to continue to expand our product assortment to fit ever-changing consumer needs and trends. We want to expand our bedroom styles, but going into the living room furniture is also on our roadmap. Moreover, we are looking to make our products available in more retailers across Europe.
What advice would you offer an aspiring e-tailer?
It always comes down to the customer. With ecommerce, there is so much opportunity to hear from your customers, whether it be through ratings and reviews or comments on your social channels. It is important to take customer reviews seriously and continuously improve the products.
Additionally, at Zinus, we obsess about creating a seamless customer journey, from inspiration to consideration, purchase, delivery and after-purchase service. It is through listening to and understanding your customer that you can succeed.
