When Singapore furniture brand Castlery closed its original Sydney store in 2019 to sell online, a return to Australian physical retail looked unlikely. “It was a destination, but we didn’t have the brand awareness to pull the people in,” Leah Howatson, the retailer’s GM of international markets, told Inside Retail. “We were paying for the space without getting the foot traffic.”

Yet seven years later, Castlery has come full circle. The business, which now employs more than 500 people worldwide and has sold over a million pieces of furniture, is returning to physical retail with renewed confidence.

In Australia, that has meant opening three showrooms in as many years, with Melbourne the latest. The 448-square-metre showroom on Yorkshire Street in Richmond includes 17 room sets and interiors inspired by the State Library Victoria reading room.

Initially, though, the decision to abandon physical retail in Australia appeared vindicated by the pandemic. But as online advertising became more expensive and shoppers returned to stores, Castlery began reconsidering its strategy. “Towards the tail end of Covid, digital marketing was becoming more expensive, and customers were really craving that return to physical”, Howatson said. Castlery pivoted to the homemaker centre at Moore Park, testing the concept with a pop-up before the permanent 576 square-metre space opened in June 2024.

Castlery measures its showrooms by geographic performance rather than individual sales channels, avoiding competition between its online and offline teams. The approach appears to be paying off. Howatson said Queensland sales grew by around 80 per cent year on year following the opening of its showroom, while Melbourne could see growth of 30 to 40 per cent.

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