During May 2017, Leisure Lounge threw a cocktail party to celebrate our 25th anniversary. It was an emotional gathering, with old friends and new coming together to toast the success of this custom furniture business. Here’s what Leisure Lounge’s Lynton Lloyd had to say on this auspicious occasion…
Time Flies When You’re Having Fun
“I really can’t believe that it’s been 25 years since I took my first tender steps up the stairs to the Leisure Lounge premises back in 1992! What a journey building this business has been – back then, I was a 24-year old kid, fresh-faced from varsity and doing my accounting articles (I hoped to become a CA). I wasn’t enjoying it, though, and was on the lookout for an opportunity to change career paths. Earning a mere R900 a month, with bond repayments of R600 on my bachelor flat, life was tough! On top of that, my rusty old Mazda got stolen and the Mynah bus become my daily transport to and from work, with a bicycle my weekend wheels.
At the time, Leisure Lounge was owned by a family friend. They were doing a bit of reupholstery, and I was helping with the books on a part-time basis. Out of the blue one Thursday, he phoned me to tell me he was closing the business and needed me to wind up the accounts. This was the gap I’d been looking for! I offered to take over the business – debt and all – with the proviso that I could get my hands on the business bakkie. He agreed, no money changed hands, and he gave me the keys to the bakkie and to Leisure Lounge! Much to my parents’ disgust, I immediately resigned from my job, and rode my bicycle to Leisure Lounge’s premises in Mayville the following Monday morning to begin my career in an upholstery business and, importantly, take possession of some wheels!
On that first morning, I met Leisure Lounge’s four remaining staff members – two of whom, Simon and Roy, are still working for us. Simon was a sweeper then – he is now a fantastic frame maker, and can manufacture any item from a photograph. Roy is a master upholsterer and takes on the upholstery work on new designs, as he gets the end result perfect time and time again.
It was Simon who suggested that we start manufacturing couches, not just re-covering them. And so, we started stripping couches and copying the fames – and from these humble beginnings we were slowly able to grow the business to where it is today. I still remind myself on a regular basis that our monthly turnover in our first year of business was a mere R11 000!
Cut Start-Ups Some Slack!
But business wasn’t always plain sailing – in fact, it wasn’t long after I took the business on that we started sinking. Friday afternoons were nightmarish – I can barely describe the agony of trying to scrape together wages or money to pay suppliers for the goods we needed to continue operating. I can clearly recall lying in bed at night in tears, not knowing where the next cent was coming from! At one stage, the company had eight judgements against it, and numerous summons arriving on my desk. It seemed insurmountable; enter two legends in the furniture industry without whom we wouldn’t have survived – Harvey from LR Foam and Farouk Danka of U&G Fabrics. Both of these gentlemen allowed me to continue purchasing product, despite the debts outstanding – the kindness extended to me by them helped us get to where we are today. In time, we paid off all our outstanding debts, and today these two companies are our biggest suppliers. The take-away from this story, especially in these days of ‘pay in advance and cash on delivery’ – business is tough, and we do need to cut each other a bit of slack from time to time!
Work Hard and Deliver
I’m often asked what makes a business succeed and, although having good products is critical, the loyalty shown towards suppliers and customers alike is paramount.
Without customers, no business can keep its doors open – as a team, Leisure Lounge works incredibly hard to offer the highest quality products and the best service that we possibly can. This hard work has been rewarded with incredible loyalty and support from our customers, who see us as the go-to team when they’re in the market for new furniture.
If you want to build a successful business, loyalty is a two-way street – special mention needs to be made of our suppliers, many of whom have been providing us for many years with excellent product and service, and our own team, who always have the best interests of Leisure Lounge at heart, and have rewarded us with many years’ service and unwavering dedication – Janine Cox, 24 years; Carla Coetzee, 20 years; Candice Smith, 15 years and Michele Canal, 10 years…the list goes on!
Last but by no means least, I need to acknowledge the role of my father, Pat Lloyd, in building Leisure Lounge. He joined me in the business a few years after I took things over, and played an instrumental part in growing Leisure Lounge from a simple reupholstery business to a leading manufacturer of fine furniture in South Africa.
Here’s to the first twenty-five years of Leisure Lounge, and to the next twenty-five years!”
– Lynton Lloyd, Managing Director, Leisure Lounge
Superb Catering from Centrepiece Events
Our 25th Anniversary Celebration event was held at our Umhlanga showroom, and was catered by Centrepiece Events. Our guests – comprising suppliers, customers, staff and other industry role players – enjoyed delicious canapés and mini meals of lamb curry and chicken prego rolls. Thanks to Stuart and his team for providing tasty food and outstanding service on this occasion. Leisure Lounge highly recommends Centre Piece Events for your next function.
See our Facebook page and Instagram profile for more pictures of this fabulous event…
