Meet the MD: James Dowsing-Reynolds talks interiors, digital vs physical retail and what's next for Dowsing & Reynolds

Yorkshire-based furniture specialist Dowsing & Reynolds has gone from humble e-commerce beginnings to establishing itself as a major player in furniture retail.

Launched in 2012 by James Dowsing-Reynolds, the company originally specialised in concrete-based lamps and vintage style bulbs, but has expanded to include a range of fittings and accents for the home such as lighting, taps and showers, sockets and switches, paint, artificial plants, door and drawer handles.

Over the years the brand has since been featured on the likes of Grand Designs, The Interior Design Challenge, and George Clarke’s Old House New Home, and has continued to grow its range of fixtures and accessories.

In 2019, the firm - originally an online store - opened its first premises in County Arcade in Leeds’ Victoria Quarter, marking the brand’s step into physical retail.

MD James Dowsing-Reynolds spoke with Bdaily about his entrepreneurial journey, the approach of the business and what’s next for the brand.

Can you tell the readers about yourself first of all - i.e. your background, where you are from etc?

“As a teenager I always loved helping out my dad in the garden. I quickly gained a passion for it and then went on to study garden design.

“I was one of the youngest in the country to have been studying it at the time and absolutely loved it, but was desperate to get some hands-on experience. So as soon as I could, I moved to London to work on gardens there.

“I grew up in South Africa and lived there until I was six. We then moved around a lot and I’ve had around 40 addresses since I was born! I’m now happily settled in North Leeds with my wife Ally and our daughter.”

What does your role entail?

“As well as overseeing the overall business strategy and identifying areas of growth, I handle all aspects of product design and development.

“Most recently I attended trade shows Maison et Objet in Paris and Ambiente in Frankfurt to gain inspiration for our newest designs.”

When was Dowsing & Reynolds set up, and how has it grown since then?

“We launched in 2012 after my wife and Dowsing & Reynolds co-owner Ally noticed the similarities between concrete sculptures I was making and expensive concrete light fittings in a magazine.

“I started experimenting with making lamps and selling the spare components on eBay, and from then the business quickly evolved. Ally built us a website to fulfil the growing orders and our close friend Tony Green joined to help with packing, eventually becoming Operations Director.

“We now employ 53 people across our head office site and our shop which we opened last year in Leeds’ Victoria Quarter. We’ve seen year on year growth and have customers worldwide, with turnover currently standing at £4.6m.”

What were your roles before this began, and how did you both work your way to launch the company?

“I’ve spent a lot of my career in retail and was previously a store manager at a number of garden centres.

“This has certainly helped us in growing a retail business and our understanding of how best to run a bricks and mortar shop, after spending seven years trading online!

“Ally previously held a senior position in a large marketing agency in Leeds and it’s through her experience in digital marketing that we were able to get our website built and running so quickly, helping us fulfil orders in the early days.

“Ally now holds the role of brand & marketing director and oversees our busy marketing department.”

What is it about your organisation that motivates and excites you the most?

“Being ahead of the trend curve and designing products is really exciting. I love the potential we have of discovering the ‘next big thing’.

“Another big motivation for me is seeing the growth of the team. We employ such brilliant people and we know from working so closely with them that they absolutely love what they do.

“It’s having a strong team culture that drives us all forward and it’s great to play a part in that.”

Looking back on the past year, what has been your biggest achievement?

“We’ve seen our biggest sales growth over the last year which is a real achievement when we’re in a time of economic uncertainty.

“I’m also incredibly proud of the team for pulling together and enabling us to open the shop, pretty much on schedule, in September last year.

“It was a big move to go from being an e-commerce-only business to opening a bricks and mortar store and we’ve certainly learnt a lot along the way. We know we’re not perfect but we’re proud of how far we’ve come.”

Did you find a niche in the market before setting this up? How does Dowsing & Reynolds compare to others in the industry?

“We occupy a niche in that we design, produce and sell our own products. Not many businesses operate like this in our space.

“We’re quite unique as well in our offering of custom-made orders and giving customers the option to ‘create your own’ on some of our designs. It means we can offer a more extensive product range by doing the final assembly on some of our lighting and switches and sockets in-house.

“I also think it’s quite rare in retail to have such a strong culture across our entire business – from sales staff to customer service, warehouse, operations and marketing.

“There’s no feeling of ‘us and them’, we’re very much a unit.”

What have been your biggest challenges during your time at Dowsing & Reynolds so far, and how have you overcome them?

“We’re lucky to have not been met with any significant business failures or unsolvable challenges and I think that’s largely down to previous experiences and lessons.

“We’ve been very careful to grow organically and haven’t relied on external financing which I think has contributed to our success and relatively stress-free business growth.

“Our biggest challenge came when we decided to change our business model. We started out selling vintage and industrial lighting but made the decision to become much more design-led, in-line with customer demand and staying ahead of what we were seeing in the market.

“This was absolutely the right thing for moving the business forward but it was still difficult to make those decisions and drop certain lines, even though they were popular and profitable for us at the time.

What does the future hold for your company? Any exciting projects in the pipeline we should know about?

“After a successful opening for our first shop in Leeds, we’re in discussions to open a second shop in London as a large proportion of our sales are in London and the South East.

“However, we need to make sure we get our brand experience right in our Leeds shop before mimicking it elsewhere. There are small tweaks and changes that we’re working on but we’re excited for what’s to come.

“We are constantly developing and investing in new and existing ranges so our customers can expect to see some exciting launches (and relaunches) in the next few months.”