Luxury furniture brand Stanley’s rise from a garage to IPO dreams

Luxury sofa and home décor company Stanley Lifestyles Ltd plans to go public later this year. 

For owner Sunil Suresh, the journey of building a luxury brand from scratch has been long and arduous. He says the idea to start a luxury brand came after he realised that India, despite being known as a price-sensitive market, had a space for luxury products and that people were ready to pay more for quality.

His first office wasn't much—it was a humble car garage on Mission Road in Bengaluru rented for Rs 5,000 in 1996. His friend had bought a dark blue Maruti Zen car and Suresh convinced him to let him make leather seats for the car. After days of meticulous effort, Suresh unveiled the stunning blue seats with a yellow stitch. The friend, enamoured with the transformation, handed Suresh Rs 10,000—for a job that had cost him about Rs 2,000.  

Before launching his venture, Suresh worked at a leather garments company that manufactured high fashion for leading brands like Gucci. He realised that luxury is probably the only business in the world that has the ‘luxury’ of having margins because one can demand a price for the quality.

Today, Stanley Lifestyles houses six factories, and 63 stores across India, with 3,000 SKUs. According to Suresh, Stanley Lifestyles has captured a 50% share in the luxury furniture segment, primarily in Bengaluru. The company has a 2-lakh sq ft headquarters in Electronic City, Bengaluru.

As of FY23, the company made a revenue of Rs 418 crore, growing at a CAGR of 46.29% in revenue, Suresh tells SMBStory. It has 1,600 employees.

Twenty-eight years after starting the business, Stanley took another leap of faith in September 2023 by filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the capital market regulator SEBI. Having received approval, the company is poised to go public later this year, seeking to raise funds through an IPO.

Bringing luxury into a nascent market

From having a German specialist to establish kitchen cabinetry and upholstery to working with a Swedish company for mattresses, Suresh says that Stanley Lifestyles is one of those rare retail companies that has mastered various specialities. All of its products like sofas, beds, chairs, dining tables, kitchen cabinets, cupboards, etc, are made in-house.

Stanley Lifestyles has three wings: Stanley Level Next, Stanley Boutique and Stanley Sofas and More where the price range for sofas and chairs starts from Rs 2.5 lakh and goes up to 25 lakh. It also works as a contract manufacturer for various companies including Swedish multinational IKEA.

The company says the leather it uses is imported from Italy, Germany, Europe, Argentina, and locally from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh while timber is imported from Canada and New Zealand. Suresh says the ratio for import and local material is 80:20. 

According to Mordor Intelligence, the Indian luxury furniture market is estimated at $4.35 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $5.35 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.24% during the forecast period of 2024-2029.

The need for luxury market in India

Suresh believes Indian luxury brands need to be given a chance.

“If we talk about luxury brands in India, we would hardly be able to count a few on our fingertips, however, we will all know international brands. So, high net income groups in India who need premium or luxury items don’t usually prefer Indian brands, they import products because they have a legacy and brand and this is wrong and that’s why we need to strengthen the luxury market in India also,” Suresh says.

Luxury is something that cannot be mass-produced, and for that one needs a legacy, manufacturing capabilities, knowledge, and craftsmanship. India has all of this, but nobody is focusing on growing the luxury segment, he adds.

The way forward

Stanley Lifestyles now offers a complete home solution. Suresh says, “We have slowly pivoted from being a furniture manufacturer, retailer to a brand that is completely capable of giving new furniture for every room of the house, and a single point complete home solution and there's sufficient room to grow.”

For the company, the business thrives on the tailwind of the housing sector. More premium houses, more premium furniture. “Premiumisation has just started and in the next 10 years, the Indian housing industry is going to be a trillion-dollar industry. So I think if you look at it that way, I think we are the only brand which is pan India in this segment. So we are very excited for the future. 

Brands like Magari and Dash Square operate in the same segment however, Suresh says that Stanley Lifestyles has three different segments and other brands may be competitors in one of the segments but not all. 

The company is also expanding its presence in the lifestyle segment with the introduction of Stanley Personal, targeting both men and women. This new venture will encompass a range of products, including footwear, accessories, perfumes.