Adding style to comfort Lyra Group

ADDING STYLE TO COMFORT

The Lyra Group is a leading European manufacturer of Scandinavian style upholstered furniture. Philip Yorke talked to Renata Silinskiene, the company’s sales director, about its dramatic growth in recent years and move into new markets.

The Lyra Group was founded in Lithuania in 1992 following the country’s independence from the Soviet Union. These were difficult years for the fledgling furniture company; however, careful restructuring and product programming helped it to develop a solid business model and establish a reputation for high quality and stylish furniture design. The first sofas and chairs designed by Lyra were produced for their domestic market and from the outset demand was strong for its products.

When the company first started it had 35 employees and today it employs more than 400 people at its extensive facilities in Lithuania.

It was not until 2007 that Lyra moved into export markets, with the first countries being Norway and Denmark. The company’s lean production and management system was developed by a Danish production efficiency specialist and its production processes have been upgraded and enhanced on a continuous basis.

“The demand for Lyra products in Norway and Denmark was so strong that the company offered its products to the other Scandinavian markets and became available at the largest department stores throughout the Nordic countries. Silinskiene said, “Our success was so great because we offered our customers such strong value for a very high quality product. During the past five years we discovered that Scandinavian style furniture was becoming popular in western Europe. Today customers appear to like simplicity, minimalism and functionality, so we then turned to the most important European markets including Germany, Great Britain, France and the Benelux.

“The key to our on-going success and growth is continuous development and the ability to meet the expectations of our customers and their needs.”

Diverse product portfolio

The Lyra Group’s most famous furniture brand is ‘Soft Nord’, which is a clear Scandinavian line although most of the company’s products have been created to suit the main target market which is Scandinavia. The company offers a diverse range of products including sofas, corner groups, sleeping sofas, easy chairs and sofa accessories. Its range, however, is actually infinite as the company makes it possible for customers to choose from hundreds of different models and fabrics. The challenge this poses for the company in terms of production efficiency is to make every sofa different and at the same time be able to customise it to suit each individual customer. The target is to move into new product models such as recliners or modular systems with adjustable mechanisms.

Every Year Lyra adds around 10 to 15 new collections to its extensive portfolio. The company believes that new product development is important as each market has its own characteristics and style preferences. Silinskiene added, “In order to meet the needs of our very different customer base we did a special project with Danish furniture designers in 2013–2014, which we sold very successfully into the UK market the following year.

“In 2015 we developed an entirely new range with a leading Dutch designer called Mike Jaski to create a modern Benelux-style collection.

Last year we showcased our latest collections at the Birmingham and Brussels trade fairs. Our Soft Nord line is our flagship range and our most commercial and offers extremely good value for money.”

On-going investment

The Lyra Group’s manufacturing facility is located in the north of Lithuania and close to Latvia’s capital Riga. The state-of-the-art factory employs more than 400 people and covers an area of over 14,000 square metres. Every year the company invests in new technology and this year alone it has invested around one million euros in the latest CNC machinery for fabrics and wood, as well as for new fibrefilling equipment. This year will also see an investment to extend its current facilities by a further 2000 square metres. All these improvements not only add to the efficiency and quality of the company, but also help to ensure it can make fast deliveries with only two weeks’ lead time required.

With the ever-increasing volumes demanded by its retail stores, Lyra has also invested in the construction of a new warehouse to further enhance its fast delivery process. The company also provides value-added services such as integrated procurement programmes for more efficient ordering and logistics. Its strategy is to work in close partnership with its customers and to provide world-class workmanship throughout its manufacturing processes, while offering a full and dedicated customer support service.

Lyra supplies some of the biggest department stores in Scandinavia and Europe, including Mio in Sweden with 67 stores, the Skeidar Living Group with over 40 stores and Masku in Finland with 44 stores. In addition to these, in the Netherlands its products are available in all the Profijt stores and in Switzerland they can be found in Top Tip, which has over 30 stores. Finally, in the UK, Anderson of Inverurie and Ice Interiors are available in more than 150 stores.

With an unrivalled track record for growth and a commitment to designing award-winning furniture, the future for the Lyra Group looks very positive. n For further details of its innovative and stylish furniture visit: www.softnord.eu