Building a distinctive brand to support the next stage of growth

Sharps had strong foundations: bespoke furniture, market-leading craftsmanship, a highly personalised design service and an end-to-end customer experience built around creating something individual for every home.

The opportunity was to communicate those strengths in a way that would create greater differentiation and give the brand a stronger platform for growth.

Within a competitive fitted furniture market, many of the messages around storage, design and quality had become similar. This made it harder for customers to distinguish between brands and gave price and promotion greater influence over the decision.

Sharps wanted to occupy a more distinctive and ownable space within the sector, strengthening its position as a category leader while building an emotional connection with customers. Importantly, the ambition was to reach beyond those already actively shopping for fitted furniture, building familiarity and preference so that Sharps was already front of mind when people came into the market.

I joined the Sharps brand team at the inception of the project as Brand Project Consultant, working client-side with the team throughout the development of the new brand platform with creative agency Neverland. From there, my role was to lead the wider brand project, bringing together internal teams, agencies and specialist suppliers to turn the platform into a consistent brand experience across the business.

The resulting platform, ‘It’s What’s Inside That Counts’, gives Sharps a distinctive space that brings together the quality and craftsmanship of its furniture with the emotional role our homes, rooms and belongings play in our lives. It provides an idea that can stretch across audiences, rooms, products and channels, giving the brand a stronger foundation for long-term growth.

My role then continued through every stage of implementation. I managed and coordinated the agencies and specialist suppliers involved, worked with the Sharps team to develop the brand guidelines and led the application of the platform across TV, social, digital, direct mail, PR and communications, retail and the wider sales journey. This involved translating the central brand idea into the messaging, creative and customer touchpoints needed at different stages, while maintaining consistency across a complex mix of channels and partners.

The new platform gives Sharps a clearer way to bring together its product, craftsmanship and service, balancing the functional reasons to choose the brand with a stronger emotional connection. It creates a more distinctive position within the category and a consistent foundation from which Sharps can build preference, strengthen its market position and deliver its longer-term growth ambitions.

The new platform launched nationally in October 2026, so it is too early to assess its longer-term commercial impact. Early response has been strong, including positive feedback from investors and within the marketing industry. Most importantly, Sharps now has a distinctive, ownable platform that can work across the business and support its ambition to grow and lead the fitted furniture category.