Simon Jeffreys
Simon Jeffreys is the Chief Executive of the Designers Guild Group of companies. Designers Guild is an International Home Company which designs and distributes luxury furnishing fabrics, wallcoverings, bed & bath, upholstery and other ‘Home’ products.
He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1980 with Coopers and Lybrand (now Pwc) in London, joining them in 1977 after obtaining a degree in Business Studies from University of Bradford Management Centre. He is also a Graduate of the Institute of Marketing and in 1990 he became a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. .
During his career at Coopers & Lybrand, London he specialised in corporate finance and worked on a number of flotations, corporate investigations, mergers and acquisitions. In 1983 he transferred to the Coopers & Lybrand office in Hong Kong for two years to head a group in which he was primarily involved with flotations on the US and HK stock markets, investigations for banks and consultancy projects on corporate planning and strategy.
Simon returned to the United Kingdom in 1985 to join Designers Guild, founded by his sister, Tricia Guild, Founder and Creative Director, in 1970.
Designers Guild at that time had started to build a reputation for highly innovative and luxurious designs and home products. In 1985 DG turnover was £3.0m and now in 2008 it has grown to over £43m with over 250 staff with offices and showrooms in London, Paris, Munich and Milan and a 66,000 sq. ft distribution centre in West London.
Designers Guild exports to over 60 different countries and won the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement in 1991 and 1996. A licensing division has developed into product areas which include upholstered furniture, paint, bedlinen, towels as well as stationery and Home Fragrance. The flagship retail showrooms are situated on Kings Road in London.
A new division was also set up to produce and manufacture fabrics and wallcoverings under license to further utilise the Designers Guild sales and distribution network.
Designers Guild widely produces under licence The Royal Collection of Fabrics and Wallpapers, William Yeoward Fabric and Wallpaper and Jasper Conran Fabric. They are also the distributor for Ralph Lauren Home throughout Europe and the Middle East.
Designers Guild launched their new website and UK online shop in March 2008 to promote their brand online. They also created an interactive fabric and wallpaper library on the website, and customer scrapbook facility with an aim to maximise business opportunities.
DG continues to follow an ambitious growth plan.
Background
Simon Jeffreys is chief executive and joint owner of Designers Guild in partnership with his sister Tricia Guild, founder and Creative Director. He is married with 3 children and lives in Oxfordshire. He has a degree in Business Management and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a graduate of the Institute of Marketing.
Awards
1991- Queens Award for Export Achievement
1992 – Export Award for Smaller Businesses
1996 - Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.
2008 - Pricewaterhouse Coopers Profit Track 100 – Britain’s fastest profit Growth firms: Designers Guild awarded 22nd place.
2008 - Microsoft award for Best Use of Technology
2008 - Freshest New Website Award
Website