Andrew opened by thanking the Imperial Business School team for their hard work and positive energy, and mentioned keeping busy in the UK with the change of season. The new management tracking system has not been put in place yet (the website and e-commerce development took priority) but it remains firmly on the plan, likely within the next three months. Andrew expects the most laborious part to be accurately inputting the hours and tasks tied to each project.

On market research and pricing, Andrew thought that a few key brand comparisons were missed, which meant the pricing analysis was not accurate enough to start making adjustments. Reflecting back, focusing on fewer, more strategic areas might have been more effective than covering many subjects at once.

No pricing changes have been made so far, probably partly because of the research and partly because geopolitical tensions are pushing costs up. The bigger news is a major new direction: launching the e-commerce platform that will, for the first time, let clients browse and buy a curated selection of favourite designs online.

The online experience is designed to complement the custom furniture business rather than dilute the brand, and will initially target two markets, the UK and South Africa, with the aim of capturing buyers who are ready to purchase online.

To support this, Susie is working with a marketing assistant on a structured social media framework spanning Instagram, Pinterest, Google Business profiles and a new LinkedIn presence, alongside plans for monthly newsletters. They have also hired a photographer in Devon to help tell their “UK story” and balance the website’s content, with hopes of approaching UK publications for features and seeing results in around six months. Susie remains keen to implement the “lovable app” the student team developed.

The catch up ended with heartfelt thanks. Susie spoke about how much they enjoyed the fresh, strategic energy the graduates brought and wished the team well with their graduation and careers.