UK-based sofa designer and manufacturer TCM Living, which owns sofa brands including Alstons, Ashley Manor, AMX Design and Alexander & James, has acquired premium sofa brand Arlo & Jacob from Mark Smith (CEO, TCM Living) and Julie Smith, for an undisclosed sum.
The Smiths purchased Arlo & Jacob from administration in May last year, with the blessing of TCM Corporation, TCM Living’s Thailand-listed parent company, and both the Smiths and TCM Corporation feel that now is the right time for Arlo & Jacob to join TCM Living.
Julie will remain at the forefront of the brand’s progression, overseeing product design, textile curation, and the creative/visual direction of the brand.
Arlo & Jacob is the group’s first B2C retail brand, operating five stores across the UK in Bristol, Fulham, Harrogate, Islington and Marlow, alongside a well-established online platform.
In the 12 months since acquiring the business, the Arlo & Jacob team has been strengthened with the appointments of Lisa Broad as MD, Michelle White as head of brand & creative; and Anthony Scarborough as ecommerce director.
Lisa has substantial retail and manufacturing experience garnered from her tenure as MD of Ashley Manor and head of buying for Harveys, Michelle has driven the brand direction for Alexander & James and the TCM Living companies and now bringd brought this knowledge to Arlo & Jacob, while Anthony has brought significant knowledge of working with leading online brands and retailers.
The acquisition of Arlo & Jacob enhances TCM Living’s portfolio, via its distinctive premium brand and product offering, and builds on the group’s position as an established East Midlands employer and home furnishings specialist.
Coupled with the scale and capabilities of TCM Living and its parent entity TCM Corp, the acquisition presents opportunities for synergies and growth avenues – TCM Living intends to introduce a new Arlo & Jacob flooring range in Q4 2021, utilising the operations and expertise of the TCM Flooring division.
Anthony and the web development team have spent time working on Arlo & Jacob’s online offering, innovating to replicate the personal in-store customer experience via virtual technology, which has been particularly important through the lockdowns and tiering restrictions of the last 12 months. A new Arlo & Jacob ecommerce platform will be launched this autumn.
Mark Smith, CEO of TCM Living Group, comments: “I am pleased with the progress that has been made since Julie and I acquired the business just over a year ago. Bringing it into the TCM Living Group is the logical next step, now that the business is on more solid foundations and can leverage and benefit from the wider group’s buying power, skills and know-how. We were pleased to reopen our five stores on 12th April in line with Government’s lockdown roadmap and look forward to welcoming more customers both old and new through our doors. We are also very excited about the launch of a new Arlo & Jacob ecommerce platform later this year.”
Arlo & Jacob has already launched a new Ready Made range (pictured), focused on delivering premium handmade products at speed, targeting first-time buyers, young couples, upsizers and downsizers. "Our customers want aspirational design and great quality, and being made in the UK allows us to provide that without the wait,” says Lisa Broad. "They want sustainability and craft but with the speed and convenience to meet their busy lifestyles. There's so much focus on curation, and our customers look to us to provide an edited version of the best of the best, including bestselling models combined with our bestselling fabrics.”
