Under the leadership of the third generation Rogiers, PR Living is embarking on a completely new path. After two intense years of brainstorming, discussions, design, and production, the family business is fully prepared. The Belgian manufacturer is introducing a new furniture label: Paul Rogers. And that's no small feat within a family business that will celebrate its 65th anniversary next year.
A year ago, PR Living, a well-established name in the interior design world, surprised everyone with the launch of the Muundo table brand. It was already announced that more was to come. With Paul Rogers, the Flemish are now embarking on the Italian design tour, but with the familiar Belgian touch. This mainly stands for modesty, cosiness, and warmth, say brothers Thibault (35) and Louis Rogiers (30). 'We're measuring up to the Italians, but we're much more accessible,' they say ambitiously.
Brothers Thibault and Louis Rogiers represent the third generation of the family business.
PR Living is undergoing a transformation. With the launch of Paul Rogers, the name of the parent company will increasingly fade into the background. The market demands prominent names that evoke the necessary sentiment among consumers. The new table label is a good example of this. 'People buy a Muundo; that creates sentiment and also refers to a quality label,' says Louis. 'Now we're doing the same with Paul Rogers, which came about after two years of rigorous planning. We didn't just rebrand PR Living. Paul Rogers is a start-up. The brand is built from scratch. We've asked ourselves what's missing in the furniture market and how we can establish our own brand identity. The labels Muundo and Paul Rogers are essentially under PR Living.'
Soft Launch
In the coming weeks a Soft Launch will take place, primarily gathering feedback from distributors in the showroom, where all the Paul Rogers furniture is now on display. Louis says that nearly everyone finds the collection very original. 'The big difference is that PR Living targets the mid-segment, and Paul Rogers targets the mid-high segment. We exclusively work with premium materials. You can compare us to a Range Rover, Audi, or BMW, not a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini. We offer the best of the best but at accessible prices,' he says. 'If you have to pay €25,000 for a corner sofa from an Italian brand, with Paul Rogers, you can think of €10,000 to €12,000. Without compromising on quality. That's why it took two years to get everything right,' he explains.
Cobble sofa + Dua coffee tables.
'I mainly handle sales, and Thibault handles production. Together with our designer Cas Moor, one of the new stars in the Belgian furniture industry, he shaped the completely new collection. We didn't rush. We had to make various adjustments within our own production facility in Romania. Not only do skilled craftsmen with 20 to 30 years of experience work there, knowing all the ins and outs of the furniture industry, but also young talents. Under Italian management, 875 different sofas, chairs, and tables are produced at a high level, which can then be configured individually. We only wanted to go public when everything was 100% in order. And that's the case now.'
Perfect alternative
Paul Rogers targets the better home retailer and doesn't want its furniture available on every street corner. 'This is the perfect alternative to what the mid and high-end market demands in both the short and long term,' continues Louis. 'When you see and feel our designs, that's the cherry on top. Both we and our dealers have great confidence in the new furniture label. Paul Rogers has its own brand identity; it's not a mishmash of existing furniture but a completely new concept developed by Cas, Creative Director of Paul Rogers. He is partly responsible for our baby, which will push PR Living as it is now more into the background in the coming years. We aim for consumers to enter a furniture store in the future and say, "I want a Paul Rogers sofa, do you have one?" In our logo, there are two signs: a dot and a square, which is a nod to a table or chair. Over time, this should create recognition, so people say: it's a Paul Rogers. But we're already well on our way.'
Mysterious
PR Living, founded by grandpa Paul Rogiers (87), who, like his partner and grandmother Paula, still visits the business every day, is a B2B name. With Paul Rogers, the company mainly aims to trigger consumers. 'Paul Rogers sounds mysterious, is associated with a well-known designer, or with an adventurer. People can come up with their own pseudonym for it.'
Pillar dining table + Evi chair.
By choosing the 'international' name Paul Rogers, the founder of PR Living is honoured. 'We deliberately left out the 'i' from the last name because foreigners like the French and Koreans can't pronounce the name Rogiers. Now everyone can say, "I'm looking for a Paul Rogers design"...
With the naming, we create a connection between the three generations, which gives confidence to our customers. In addition, we are fully committed to sustainability. Our furniture shouldn't end up on the landfill after five years, but should last for generations. We opt for the best natural materials. In every detail!' Louis emphasises. 'What the first and second generations of Rogiers have built is now being expanded by us. In the future, we will also ask other designers to work for us.'
Website
The website paulrogers.be will be accessible from this week. The goal is to create sentiment among potential buyers, who should feel triggered to go to the nearest dealer. 'We sell a dream. That stands or falls with the images shown, which are of a very high standard on the site. Completely in line with the high-end furniture. The images make visitors to our site dream and fantasise.
With our collection, the aim is that a dealer will never have to say no. Everything is possible, from material to layout, just to name a few. At the bottom of the site is a configurator, with which the consumer can design the right table or sofa and then request a quote from the dealer, who has a B2B login. This allows for very quick coordination. We completely take care of them.'
The new furniture label will present itself to the public for the first time at Salon del Mobile (16-21 April), where Paul Rogers will have a 200 m2 booth in Hall 5, Booth A23.
More information:
Paul Rogers
Vijfseweg 84
8790 Waregem
Belgium
Tel. (+32) 056 62 51 90
[email protected]
www.paulrogers.be
Muundo
www.muundo.be