Does living have to be expensive?

After asking themselves this question in 2009, Marc Appelhoff and Christoph Cordes created fashion4home GmbH, with the head office in Berlin. The online-shop for designer furniture went live in Germany in November and has continued to captivate an increasing number of customers, with the fantastic designs for tables, beds, chairs, sofas, armchairs and lamps.

But what is it exactly that makes fashion4home so special and enables them to ensure everyone can afford a piece of designer furniture? Firstly, this is achieved through the use of an innovative On-Demand-Production business model. Only once the customer has paid for an item of furniture will the item commence production. As soon as the model is completed it is shipped to Europe or the USA and then delivered directly to the customer. Obvious advantages: The cost of middle-men, expensive shop fronts and warehousing are saved, and these savings are then passed directly on to the customers.

The democratic voting principle also makes fashion4home something special. In the voting area, interested customers have the opportunity to vote on up and coming designs. As a result, they can take part in the decision making process and also receive a 10% discount if their selected model makes it into the shop. The majority of the furniture that fashion4home provides comes from inspired designers, including famous names like Karsten Weigel and Tobias Jacobsen. fashion4home works together with the designers to develop their designs, taking them from sketches to a completed collection. Renowned manufacturers also work closely with fashion4home to ensure that only high quality materials are used in the production of each item.

Only a short time after the foundation of fashion4home GmbH in Germany, the shops in Austria and the Netherlands were opened on the internet. Early in 2010 fashion4home inc. and fashion4home Limited were also established and since then it has been possible to purchase designer furniture in both the USA and the UK. Because furniture is also influenced by fashion trends, the business changed its name from fashion4home to FASHION FOR HOME in July 2011 in order highlight the promise of “fashionable furniture FOR the home”. The red “4” in the logo has also been replaced by a distinctive red chair, which further emphasises this promise.