OKA
TypeLimited Company
IndustryFurniture, home accessories
GenreRetailer
Founded1999 (1999)
FounderAnnabel Astor, Sue Jones and Lucinda Waterhouse
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Key people
Annabel Astor, Sue Jones, Lucinda Waterhouse, Peter Chappelow, Octavia Morley
OwnerInvestindustrial
Websitewww.oka.com

OKA (also known as OKA Direct) is a British furniture and home accessories retailer founded in 1999 by Annabel Astor, Sue Jones, and Lucinda Waterhouse. It is owned by Investindustrial.[1] OKA has 14 shops[2] across the UK, together with British and American websites and a catalogue business.

History

OKA started as a mail-order company in 1999, before opening its first shop in 2000. Annabel Astor, her sister-in-law Sue Jones, and friend Lucinda Waterhouse sold products primarily from East Asia. The initial product range was 'rattan' for the first OKA catalogue – which was photographed in Jane Churchill and Bruce Oldfield's homes – followed by painted wooden furniture, alongside replicas of 18th-century blue and white porcelain and a range of Chinoiserie furniture.[3]

OKA has two flagship shops in the UK: Froxfield, an 8,000 sq. ft showroom and a smaller garden room is between Hungerford and Marlborough; and London's three-floor Fulham Road, OKA's largest shop as of its opening in 2010.[4]

In September 2011, OKA opened a concession in the department store Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, but it closed in February 2013.[5] In May 2016, OKA opened a concession in Hoopers Department Store, Tunbridge Wells.[6]

In 2009, OKA’s warehousing facilities moved from Berinsfield to a larger facility of over 100,000 sq. ft in Milton Park, Oxfordshire,[7] where their head office is also based.

In May 2014, Peter Chappelow was appointed as non-executive chairman, replacing Graham Frost.[8] In October 2014, Octavia Morley was appointed as CEO.[9]

OKA reported a 23% rise in online sales and a 17% rise in overall profit for 2013, taking their annual turnover to £19.9m.[10]

The company was bought by Italian investment firm Investindustrial in January 2018.[11]

OKA made its first acquisition, US-based Wisteria, in September 2018.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Current portfolio: OKA". Investindustrial.
  2. ↑ "OKA store locations". OKA.
  3. ↑ "OKA rules, ok yah! How Annabel Astor is catering for the middle classes". London Evening Standard. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "Oka: Lady Astor's new flagship furniture store". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Furniture Retailer OKA arrives at London Selfridges". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "OKA Direct celebrates new store openings". Direct Commerce. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "OKA Moves to Milton Park". MEPC. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Lady Astor's OKA appoints retail veteran". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Oka Direct appoints Octavia Morley as chief executive". Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Lady Astor's OKA posts profit surge after wooing younger shoppers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  11. ↑ Collingridge, John. "Aston Martin owner buys Oka, founded by Samantha Cameron's mum". The Times. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "Founders sell Wisteria, the Dallas grown home furnishings retailer, to a well-heeled London brand". Dallas News. 21 September 2018.

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