DTC furniture company Article saw 70% revenue growth in 2020 despite the pandemic. Its CEO says that owning its fulfillment and logistics operations was key.

<p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/60070787660f6c0018349c02-2222/AamirBaig_02.jpg" border="0" alt="Aamir Baig Article" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Article"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>People have generally been spending a lot more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, some have looked around their space and decided it's time for a refresh.&nbsp;</p><p>For Canadian direct-to-consumer furniture company Article and its competitors, the pandemic refresh has been an opportunity.&nbsp;</p><p>Article is a private company and does not share specific sales figures. But in 2020, a year marred by the pandemic and its related <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vcs-interested-in-analytics-logistics-startups-ecommerce-2021-1">logistics challenges</a>, Article grew its revenue by 70% year over year and added more than 220,000 new customers across the US and Canada, the company said.&nbsp;</p><p>"We're cognizant that a lot of companies are in a difficult situation, for nothing of their own doing," cofounder and CEO Aamir Baig said in a recent interview with Insider. "But in our particular context we've had operational stress to fulfill the demand."&nbsp;</p><p>Baig said the company has benefited from people shifting their spending away from travel and events and towards the home. And, since Article is a purely online business, it has benefited from the recent <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-vc-firms-in-e-commerce-next-big-opportunity-2020-12">surge in e-commerce spending</a> as well.&nbsp;</p><p>Article launched in 2013 and <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/article-ranks-no-1-on-the-2019-growth-500-for-second-consecutive-year-835237601.html">was named</a> the fastest-growing company in Canada by Canadian Business magazine in both 2018 and 2019. It was <a href="https://www.canadianbusiness.com/videos/growth-ceo-summit/2020-5-article/">fifth</a> on the list in 2020.&nbsp;</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/outer-ceo-dtc-company-explosive-web-traffic-sales-pandemic-2020-7">DTC furniture brand Outer just raised another $10.5 million from investors after seeing a 1,000% increase in sales over 2020. Its CEO explains how the company hit record sales during a pandemic.</a></em></p><p>Article works directly with manufacturers to create its furniture pieces. This direct relationship can be beneficial as the company owns the process and keeps its costs low.&nbsp;</p><p>But, Baig said, the pandemic was a headwind for the company's supply chain operations in 2020, as getting things from point A to point B became more complicated. Keeping up with high demandwithout compromising its associates' safetywas a challenge.</p><p>"Supply chains are global. You have wood coming from somewhere, fabric coming from somewhere else, nuts and bolts coming in," he said. "It becomes a bit complex."</p><p>One thing that has helped Article thrive in the current environment is that it has developed its own fulfillment and logistics operation. It has its own fulfillment centers and delivery teams.</p><p>"That part is more in our control, so we can drive changes faster," Baig said, mentioning contactless delivery as an example. Article quickly launched contactless delivery services in the spring of 2020 as lockdowns were going into place.&nbsp;</p><p>Baig added that Article aims to communicate transparently with customers throughout the purchase process, so as to "minimize surprises" when it comes to delivery.&nbsp;</p><h2>'Barriers' to buying furniture online are coming down</h2><p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/60073703660f6c0018349d17-2400/SET 1 LENIA LIGHT OAK QUEEN BED_5089.jpg" border="0" alt="article furniture" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Article"></p><p>Article is known for its mid-century modern, Scandinavian aesthetic. Its prices range from about $600 to $4,000 for sofas and from about $450 to $800 for desks.&nbsp;</p><p>Its outdoor furniture and home office pieces have been particularly popular this year.&nbsp;</p><p>Article's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/article/'hl=en">Instagram page</a> has 770,000 followers and features photos from customers showing Article's products in their own spaces.&nbsp;</p><p>Baig said leaning on user-generated content has been an important strategy for the e-commerce company.&nbsp;</p><p>"You're buying an expensive product without seeing it, and you're going to be spending a lot of timeseveral years, maybe decadeswith that product, and it will be a big part of your life, even more so during the pandemic," he said. "There's a lot of desire to know, how does it look, how does it feel' How does it really come to life in spaces'"</p><p><em><strong>Read more:&nbsp;</strong></em><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-cloud-retail-products-personalization-visual-search-2021-1">Google Cloud is making it possible for shoppers to use image search on retailers' websites. Its VP of retail explains why powering sites with AI can give companies a competitive edge.</a></em></p><p>Helping customers to understand how a product looks and feels would certainly be easier to accomplish in a showroom.</p><p>But, Baig said the company isn't considering getting into physical retail at this point, adding that he thinks the "barriers" to buying furniture sight-unseen are already coming down. For example, Wayfair, a pioneer in online furniture selling, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wayfair-sales-soar-as-shoppers-online-furniture-2020-8">has reported large sales increases in recent quarters.</a></p><p>Baig said he's especially optimistic because he feels Article has solved one of the biggest challenges in buying pieces of furniture online: they're usually too big to go through traditional carriers like FedEx and UPS. Article avoids traditional shippers altogether and goes with its own delivery crews. He's excited about the potential for Article's logistics network going forward.&nbsp;</p><p>"I think the opportunity is tremendous," he said.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vuori-athleisure-sales-exploding-ceo-shares-why-2020-11" >Vuori CEO Joe Kudla reveals how the activewear brand has nearly tripled its revenue so far in 2020, despite the pandemic</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/article-furniture-success-2020-due-to-logistics-demand-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-most-expensive-liquid-thoroughbred-horse-semen-2020-3">Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid</a></p>
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