When the team behind Vancouver furniture brand Sundays launched in Canada in 2019, they knew a move into the American market would be in the company’s future. Founded by four childhood friends—husband-wife duo Barbora and Moe Samieian, alongside Noah Morse and Sara Samieian—Sundays entered the U.S. market six months ago and has already outpaced its growth in Canada.
“The plan was always to eventually be across North America, but we started with Canada to gain some initial traction and start building some revenue, knowing that the United States is more competitive and advertising is more expensive,” Barbora Samieian said. “And with furniture, the other consideration is the delivery. So being able to gain some economies of scale in terms of where we position our warehouses so that when we do start delivering, we can really provide an amazing experience to our customers was important.”
Establishing warehouses in the U.S. was a major priority for the Sundays team, particularly during a time when furniture deliveries were being significantly delayed due to pandemic-related logistical disruptions. The company opened facilities in New Jersey and Washington State to provide competitive delivery times. Sundays also recently opened a warehouse in Los Angeles, where the brand has seen a major increase in traction.
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“We provide fairly accurate estimates of ETA to customers when you’re searching for product based on zip code,” Samieian said. “With that zip code accuracy, we can actually be very accurate with some shorter delivery timelines and impress our customers. If they’re ordering from Los Angeles, since we’ve got a warehouse there, we might be able to deliver our in-stock products as quickly as within five to 10 days.”
Sundays’ line includes everything from sofas and beds to outdoor furnishings and accessories such as rugs and mirrors. Pricing ranges from $190 for a floor cushion to $2,150 for a king-size bed to $7,530 for a five-piece modular sectional. The bulk of the collection is designed in-house to offer a cohesive look across products.
“I think being from the West Coast, we’re drawn to that West Coast kind of modern aesthetic, very warm,” Samieian said. “There are four of us co-founders, and we all have kids, so we love a beautiful aesthetic and beautiful things, but without it being cold and overly precious. I would say beautiful design that’s also warm.”
As parents, livability was important for Sundays’ founders, too. Their goal was to design furnishings that look great but also feel comfortable and stand up to the rigors of family life, as well.
“Whether it’s rounded corners on our sideboards or coffee tables or that idea of multi-functionality, livability is always top of mind,” Samieian said. “So we have pieces like a stool that can be an end table or a nightstand. I brought mine into the nursery temporarily when I needed extra pieces there, without having to sacrifice the look.”
Samieian said the company builds its pieces to last, too, with sustainability in mind. She sees Sundays’ products as the kind of furnishings people not only keep for years, but then pass down to the next generation.
“We use a lot of solid wood and performance fabric, and we offer a lot of modular pieces,” she said. “Multi-functionality is something we really take into consideration, with that idea of fewer, better, higher-quality things in your home so that it’s not fast furniture that’s turning over and ending up in a landfill.”
Sundays’ delivery process was designed to contribute to the products’ longevity and sustainability, too. The company works to minimize its packaging to avoid waste and the use of non-recyclable materials such as styrofoam, and they offer white-glove delivery and assembly to ensure their products are put together correctly.
“For the larger pieces, we provide assembly through our delivery partners,” Samieian said. “It makes delivery a better experience for our customers, but what that does as well is help reduce returns. We found that sometimes when customers are assembling their own products, they may not be assembling a bed every day, and so by placing a screw in the wrong place, you could actually damage a piece that then could result in an exchange or a return. We have quite low return rates, under 4 percent.”
While Samieian said Sundays was initially founded as an e-commerce brand, the company has experienced so much success that brick-and-mortar retail has become part of its growth plan. The company opened a few popups in Canada that have since become permanent showrooms, and Samieian said she can see the same thing happening in the future in the U.S.
“We’ve had the opportunity to do a couple of physical activations in the U.S., in Los Angeles and New York,” she said. “I think going forward, we’ll continue in the key markets with that e-com strategy, looking at how do we layer that with partnerships and digital advertising, and also a physical presence when possible. And whether it’s temporarily through a popup, or if the right space were to come to be, there’s potential to also have a physical location in the future.”
And as Sundays continues to grow in demand in the U.S., Samieian and her fellow founders feel confident that their strategy to take their time and build a strong base and infrastructure for their business will pay off in the future.
“It was always part of the plan to really take advantage of that bigger market, and we do believe that the product does resonate with the U.S. customer,” she said.