Sam Viney has navigated the corporate giants—from Aldi and Westpac to Amart—but as CEO of the fast-growing furniture brand Lounge Lovers, he is determined to avoid the “big business” trap. Balancing a major growth phase with a lean, entrepreneurial mindset, Sam believes that sales figures are just vanity if the P&L doesn’t stack up. Here, he discusses why the best ideas come from the showroom floor, not the boardroom, why he refuses to use “corporate speak,” and how being terrible at handball keeps him humble.
What does a typical day look like for you as CEO of a fast-growing furniture brand, and how do you create structure when you’re juggling design, operations and people management all at once?
Typical day might consist of:
- Gym session or run
- Hustle my kids out the door
- Trade review meeting to look at what is selling and how we are going against targets
- Monthly strategy session to discuss opportunities, key projects and how we going against our bigger-picture KPIs
- Formal 1-1 with my direct team members. Lots of informal walking / coffee catch ups too
- Showroom visit to hear first-hand about what’s going on
At Lounge Lovers, we maintain structure through well-designed business processes , and clearly defining roles and responsibilities. We work as a lean, tight-knit team where much of our collaboration and communication happens organically. We want to avoid falling into the trap of acting like ‘big business’ as we grow, and I believe that maintaining an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial to staying agile as we expand.
Lounge Lovers is in a major growth phase. How do you personally stay focused on long-term strategy while still being present for the day-to-day decisions that keep the business moving?
Staying focused can be extremely challenging at times, but it’s essential. While there are always going to be day-to-day decisions that need to be made based on current business performance, it’s important that these actions are consistent with the medium to long-term strategy. Any incongruity between the two can create confusion within the wider business and jeopardise our ability to execute our strategy effectively.
I believe that equally important is the need to be honest about whether the strategy is actually working. Sometimes, what sounds great in a boardroom doesn’t always play out as expected in reality, and external environmental factors can shift unexpectedly. In these instances, you need to be able to pivot if needed.
You’ve worked across Aldi, Westpac, Amart and now Lounge Lovers — what habits or routines have helped you stay adaptable through such different industries and leadership roles?
To stay adaptable through different industries, it is essential to intimately understand the financials of the business. Sales are nothing more than a vanity metric if you aren’t making money, so live and breathe the P&L.
You also need to make sure you spend a lot of time speaking to the wider team around you. When you’re new to a business or a category, these people will know far more about your customers, organisation and the intricacies of the sector. We have had way more good ideas come from the team members on the front line than ideas coming out of meeting rooms.
Lastly, it’s important to ensure you have a circle of trusted consiglieres – ideally internal and external – who you can bounce ideas off of to stress test them.
Furniture is such a tangible, emotional part of people’s homes. How does that influence the way you lead the brand, make creative decisions and stay connected to customers?
Lounge Lovers is fortunate to have a team of very dedicated and hard-working buyers who lead the creative direction of our range. They identify global trends and adapt them to the Australian market. We also have a comprehensive research program to ensure we’re always getting objective feedback. To support this, our retail team is always sharing ideas and thoughts from our customers. This type of feedback proves to be most valuable.
Growing a national retail business can be high-pressure. What keeps you grounded outside of work, and what practices help you reset during heavy weeks?
Honestly, my kids keep me grounded! There’s nothing that brings me back to earth quite like being told I’m a loser because I am not good at handball or the game ‘Tips’. I also try to get back to the basics of life to disconnect: a long run, a fishing trip or cooking a meal for family and friends.
I’m also fortunate to have a group of friends that I’ve known for 40 years. We all have a mutual disinterest in each other’s careers, so it is nice to be with a bunch of people who couldn’t care less about Black Friday sales or our latest shift in gross margin.
As you look ahead to the next stage of Lounge Lovers’ expansion, what principles guide the way you build culture, support your team and maintain momentum sustainably?
At Lounge Lovers, we want to make sure we don’t lose the essence of who we are as we grow. This means our leaders must remain highly visible, constantly engaging with both our team and customers.
Equally, we also pride ourselves on being transparent with our team, candidly and openly sharing information – whether it’s positive or less positive, especially when it comes to business updates. We resist the temptation to fall into ‘corporate speak’ and avoid associated platitudes.
We will never be a ‘growth at all costs’ company, which helps us to avoid burnout within our teams. We have a very clear view of what is sustainable, and have no compulsion to push harder than this.
