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What does that stance mean for the business and how you choose to operate?
We act with as much integrity as we possibly
can and, dare I say it, with as much altruism as we possibly can. The whole edifice of capitalism is built upon a selfishness. As EF Schumacher said in 1973 in Small Is Beautiful, an absolutely seminal work which demands reading and re-reading, he boiled
it down to greed and envy.
That’s the root of our problems. Where possible, we stand against the consumption of resources. We use resources, make furniture that lasts as long as possible, then repair them and encourage people to value them.
We know who we are, we know what we stand
for. We’ve got to be brave enough to take a position and stand by it.
Not everybody likes it. Vitsœ is not to everybody’s taste. We are, dare I say it, somewhat of a Marmite. Those who love us, once they understand us, wouldn’t change it for the rest of their lives. We are making furniture to a very high quality in the UK and selling it to customers around the world at a price they can afford because we are going directly to them. We have nobody in between us and the end user, and that’s fundamental to us.
We don’t discount. Because the person who didn’t ask for a discount is subsidising the person who did ask for a discount. That’s not truthful; that’s not
90 Enlightened Zagger