From Family Roots to Industry Leadership: The Loloi Story with Cyrus Loloi

Anastasia Casey: Today on the Interior Collective podcast, I am joined by Cyrus Loloi, CMO and principal of Loloi and Joon Loloi. What began as his father's American dream, immigrating from Iran with almost nothing and later building Loloi rugs from the ground up has become one of the most recognizable names in the home industry. Cyrus and his brother have carried that vision forward, scaling Loloi into a powerhouse brand while simultaneously launching Joon Loloi, a digital native sister brand expanding into furniture, lighting, art, and more. In our conversation, we're talking about the evolution of vendor designer relationships, how brands like Loloi are adapting in today's challenging marketplace, and what is next for this family-run business that's shaping the way designers source for their clients. AC: We are so excited to invite you to dive deeper into the Interior Collective podcast episodes now on Patreon. 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Get your Spec Book and FF&E schedule template in the show notes or at idco.studio, and don't forget to use code podcast15 for 15% off your order. AC: Hey, Cyrus, welcome to the Interior Collective Podcast. This is such a huge honor to get to chat with you. I'm so glad we can make this happen. Cyrus Loloi: Hey, Anastasia, I'm so excited to be on the podcast. I'm an avid listener, so this is pretty cool to be here. AC: I am super honored actually that we get to touch on the topics that we do today. Thank you, Cyrus, for trusting me to ask the questions about your family's incredible story and journey to the United States and just building up Loloi. So if you could take us back to the very beginning, what do you remember most about your dad's early days building Loloi? CL: I think overall my father's story is a pretty incredible one. He founded Loloi in 2004 at 44 years old after being in the industry for almost 25 years. I think being 37 myself, thinking about having, he had a family at that point. And he really put it all on the line and bootstrapped it and self-funded Loloi himself and had this dream of having something for his, not only himself, but eventually his two sons in the industry. And so I think that's really special. And I just remember the work ethic and the passion that he had. He would constantly go overseas. Working seven days a week was the norm. I'm talking about going to the office on a Sunday, 12 hour Sunday was not unusual. And you know, I think when you put yourself in that position where you really go for it, you kind of sort of burn the boats and you have to make it. And that was his mentality. And he always had that work ethic, even at his prior company. But yeah, he really went for it. And obviously here we are, you know, 22 years later. AC: Can you talk to us a little bit about his story of immigration and starting over in the United States, what that looked like, how old he was? I know he came here with like virtually nothing. And then look at what you guys have built as a family together, but where was he coming from and who was here with him when he got here? CL: He really has a remarkable story. So he moved in, I believe, 1978, just before the Iranian Revolution. And I believe he was 16 years old. He had several hundred dollars in his pocket. I think my grandfather offered him a little bit more. He said, no, you know what? I'm OK. And hopefully one day I can pay this back and more. And so he arrived to Dallas because he had some relatives in the area. That was the only reason to pick Dallas otherwise he knew nobody. He didn't know the language. He didn't know anything. And he went to school here. He worked really odd jobs to make it and support himself. And he would learn English on the job. And so I think like, you he's stories of working at Baskin Robbins and Burger King and then, you know, selling ice cream in different neighborhoods and ice cream truck in Dallas. And I remember just his mentality, the stories he would have. He worked at Burger King in the back and he would constantly ask his manager, hey, I want to be a cashier. I want to be a cashier because cashiers were paid, I don't know, you know, a quarter or more an hour than being in the back flipping burgers, but also because it gave him opportunity to practice English. And so, yeah, he had that hustle. He wanted to make it. He had that sort of immigrant mentality. He went to school in the Dallas area, still worked all throughout school. Not my mother there. And then he, as soon as actually, I'm not sure if my parents want me to tell this part of the story, but I'll say anyway, my mom had to beg him to finish his last semester. Cause he was already mentality of, need to work. I need to go make a living. And so he started working like full time, full time in his last semester of college. The irony, I think he studied computer science and I would not say, you know, computers and IT is strength, but he minored in business and always had a huge passion for business, always very engaged in those classes. And yeah, that was sort of his upbringing and his story. AC: That's amazing. So you said you remember your dad, you know, 12 hour days on Sundays when you were growing up. So you and your brother joined in the early years. You guys have been involved in the family business for what feels like so long. Can you tell us how that dynamic as a family business really took shape? CL: Yes. So Loloi started in 2004 and then Stephen got in in 2009. And then I did in 2011 after I graduated college. So that was sort of our timing, how we got into the business relatively soon after school. And yeah, when you put it that way, you know, I guess I'm a veteran in industry as well. AC: Yeah, absolutely. I'm so curious, like growing up watching him build this and when he started Loloi and you were really just headed to university at that time, or still in high school, finishing up high school actually, did you know at that point you were definitely joining the family business? And did you and your brother Steven like know one of you guys are going to be on finance side, one's going to be in marketing, one's going to be doing this, or did you guys like figure it out on the ground when you actually joined? CL: Absolutely not. I thought selling rugs was the most boring thing you could do. I don't know, I was playing tennis or doing whatever I was doing. I wasn't thinking I was going to really join this industry. I mean, you have to realize, like, when I graduated high school in 2006, Loloi was two years old and it was not sort of this, I think relatively modern, like, I like to think well run sort of company that it is today. It was a small, small kind of mom and pop style operation. I just didn't know, I didn't have an appreciation for the industry, what my father truly did, and really how good of opportunity it was. I worked for one year after I graduated college elsewhere. I wanted to get just some different experience under my belt. And then I came to realize like hey, this Loloi opportunity, it's something I should explore and I have zero regrets there, obviously. I've gotten to sort of inject my perspective into the industry and I've learned so much and met so many great people on the way. AC: Can you talk to us about what the corporate structure from a family perspective looks like? What is your brother doing? How, if at all, is your dad still involved? And how does that get delegated now? CL: Amir, my father is president, CEO and owner and designs products and greets customers at market and checks the light bulbs in the showrooms. He's still incredibly, incredibly involved. Steven, he's more on the, I'd say like kind of playing a hybrid role between product development and sales and just has a great sort of mind for business strategy. And then I came up in the industry through marketing. That's been my, that's what I study in school. It's my primary focus. My role in the last several years has broadened and I wear different hats. I have an interest in things, know, whether it's operations, e-commerce, a customer experience, all that stuff. AC: Well, the Loloi marketing, everybody knows is the best. Everyone knows never miss a Loloi party. Like that is the showroom to get to when you're at Highpoint or at any other market. But family-run businesses can sometimes struggle with scaling. And that can be really hard because there's the family dynamic and there's the vision of the founder. What do you think has really allowed Loloi not just to survive, but thrive as an industry name? CL: Yeah, thank you. I guess we got a little bit lucky in terms of even though Amir and Steven and I have very different personalities, we share sort of the same values and ambitions. And Amir always says, like, we don't want to focus on being the biggest. We want to focus on being the best. And, you know, of course he wants to grow. We want to grow. But I think what that means is mentality is, you know, do the right things, come out with products that you're proud of, try to give the customer a good experience, have good, fair policies, all that stuff. If you do those things well and you're working hard, the scale should come. So it's just it's just his way of sort of framing and saying, you know, focus on the right things, not the outcome, but sort of the process of things you need to do to improve and get there. And if you do those things and you're committed to that, you will you will grow. I think oftentimes people sort of overestimate what they can do in a short period of time and underestimate what they can do in the long term. AC: That's so interesting. From your perspective, what do you think has been the biggest turning point for the company over the last 20 years? Like if you had to pinpoint, that's when we really felt a shift. What do you think that was? CL: I get this question a lot. It's a tough one. You know, it's not a media friendly answer I want to be able to say there was this event or this idea that really sort of you know I think it kind of harkens back to my previous answer saying that you know over the long term you sort of build a reputation build some successes and these things sort of compound on each other brick by brick you know, I will say like there's a milestones where I felt it was? It was a very momentous sort of thing for the business. First, you know, sort of pretty high profile collaboration was with Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines back in 2015. But that was the outcome of earning a reputation in the industry that we could do a good job. So that was the outcome of, I think, great work in the years that preceded that. Same with the other sort of ones like Amber Lewis in 2021. Obviously, those are great things for us commercially. But I looked at that internally and said, like, wow, you know, that that's really a great sign for Loloi that someone like Amber would trust the brand, trust the family, that we would come out with products that she's proud to put her name on. But I don't think, none of this stuff happens overnight. I'm sure you've experienced the same with your company, your podcast. It takes time to build. AC: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's such a great reminder and such an honest answer that it is a series of small wins. And by the time you get to that big win, I love how you put that. That's really a result of all of those small wins leading up to it. And I think that that applies to anybody's business they're running. That's a design business or if they're in the manufacturing world, I think it's entirely applicable. I'd love to hear your perspective on how the interior design industry has changed in the way that designers are engaging with vendors like Loloi? Because I feel like COVID really changed up everything. And it's interesting to hear, you launched the Magnolia collection, you said 2015, and then Amber was in 2021. That was like peak COVID boom, or what could have been bust as far as, you know, what people expected. So how do you feel like things have really changed and how are you reacting to that at Loloi? CL: Some of those changes happened. Some of the things I've observed that happened before COVID. When I started in the industry, my first trade show, my dad gave me like pen and paper and said, write this customer's order. And I'm thinking like, yeah, I went to Silicon Valley school and all I was like, you got to be kidding me. Like, what are we doing here? This doesn't sink directly into our ERP. It was, you know, I saw, I wrote the customer's order manually and that's what they expected. Also, that was sort of just like normalized. And I think over time, you know, let's be honest, trade companies sort of usually from a technology perspective, they're step behind from, you know, consumer oriented brands. But we've seen the way that like, you know, retailers and designers shop to be a little bit more sort of consumer behavior oriented. They're not only willing to use a vendor site, a lot of them prefer it. And they want to engage with a vendor in multiple channels. So yes, I think trade shows are still a crucial part of the business. You know, there are some customers that we have nice accounts. I don't know if they've ever talked to human being at Loloi. And I couldn't tell you that was the case, you know, 10 years ago or so. AC: Yeah, you're probably looking at your dad. Where's that computer science degree now, dad, as we're sitting here taking these orders off on paper. How do you think designers listening can better leverage their vendor relationships to grow their business? You just touched on, have sizable accounts that you guys have never even spoke to in person or on the phone. What do you think are some tips that those listening can start to implement to really utilize those relationships? CL: I think it's a great pertinent question right now because the state of industry isn't so hot right now. That's nothing new. That's not news. The housing market is stagnant. I don't think the tariffs are helping our situation, our industry, particularly because so many vendors import from places like India and Vietnam and China and so forth. So I think that's, you know, it's vendors are having a tough time. Retailers are having a tough, tough time. Some designers are having a tough time. You know, I've heard design a little bit more insulated, but of them are having a tough time, certainly, or even the best ones aren't having the boom they enjoyed during COVID, right? And so my advice would be really go with the vendors that you trust and that you want to build a relationship and some equity with. You know, I think you have to be a little bit mindful that not every vendor, particularly the smaller ones, may be in good financial health. You're placing a made to order custom thing. Putting money up front on behalf of your client. So you just have to be careful. Do your due diligence in that regard. I think you want to really go with the vendors you trust. And the more business you do with a vendor, just being honest and transparent, which of course we want to give all of our customers a good experience. But the more you do business with a vendor, the more they're going to value you as an account and try to prioritize your business the best they can. So I'd say like really sort of aligning yourselves with the vendors that you want to work with, trust. And the vendors want to help. Of course they want to sell you. But a good vendor tries to build a long-term relationship and doesn't just try to sell you today but set you up for success so that you come back and you're a good lifetime customer. AC: One of the questions I hear from listeners a lot, or even like people I interview on the show, are saying that, you know, they want to always be designing something fresh and something new. And so they have trouble investing so much equity in the same vendors all the time because they want to try using small makers. They want to try using something else. They don't want to use the same, you know, rug, artwork, sofa multiple times. What do you feel like Loloi offers to help counteract that? I mean, obviously the thousands of SKUs you have, but I also think that you guys are putting out new products so frequently in such immense catalogs. What can you say to someone who's like, don't like to use the same thing twice? CL: Yeah, and you don't have to at Loloi and some of the other large vendors. Our line is so vast. You not just like in terms of sizes that we carry on stuff, but just the styles, the constructions, the price points. And if you're truly like, Hey, I just truly want something unique. Well, Loloi offers one of a kind vintage products also that is literally one of a kind. And so, you know, I get it. I'm on Instagram. I see my favorite designers work. They're oftentimes speccing things that are unique and different for or project and that is part of what makes a project special. I'm certainly not here to deny that. And so there'll be times where people select Loloi for a project and times where they don't or they take a mix where they say, for the living room and the dining room, whatever, want to go with these vendors, but for this other room, I'm gonna be a little more experimental. So I think just like know what your risk profile is and then understanding what your objectives are, I think you can probably have a balance there. AC: What do you think are some of the missed steps or missed opportunities that you see designers making when it comes to sourcing partnerships, when it comes to how they're shopping for their clients? CL: If they're necessarily making mistakes. I would say that obviously there's an opportunity to work with to the trade only brands where they're gonna get true trade pricing. And depending on the designer's business model, that may or may not be important. So if you're a designer working on a cost plus business model where the price you purchase a product for and the price that it retails at or its map pricing is at is the margin they make, then obviously like that's really important. If they run a different business model, then that may not be as important to them. So I think it depends on the individual. AC: I'd love to dig into that a little bit more because I think you and I are unique in the situation that we have this like vast collective knowledge of how designers run their business models across the country and even around the world. So you're talking about cost plus and then there's also people who are just like, this is flat and then it's a 30% markup or whatever the number is. I feel like it's pretty standard. People say it's 30%. What other pricing models have you seen when it comes to product when you guys are working with your customers? CL: I think you pretty much covered it. You know, I think some designers will charge for time, right? So that's an interesting model as well. Some do sort of a hybrid of all those things. And, you know, from our point of view, the thing that we can control is what price we offer and what map price we designate for the products we have that are protected by map. The other stuff like that's sort of a customer's prerogative in terms of how they want to go about their business. AC: For those unfamiliar, can you explain what that map pricing means? Like what does map actually mean to a designer? CL: MAP stands for minimum advertised price, and that is the price that anyone who carries Loloi online must adhere to with the exception of like moments in the year where there's like a promotion, like Black Friday or something like that, where we tell those retailers like, Hey, during these dates only you can adjust this price down or the X percent or whatever but otherwise like expectation is that everyone is at map. try to enforce that strictly. We have map trackers, all this kind of stuff. And that's what sort of levels the playing field. It protects the customers that purchase the inventory, whether that's a retail store or designer. We do have products that are not protected by map, but we try to be very transparent about that. If you go to our site as a filter that allows you to filter those out. If you go to our product page on our site, it'll tell you whether or not it's protected by map. If you come to our showroom, it'll say on the product tag whether it's map protected or not. And we found that some customers still want to buy those products. They still like the way they look and selling that works for their business model. So like, you know, to our earlier point, and some only go for the matte product. So I think as long as we're transparent about that, that's sort of our way of navigating that with our customer. AC: And a designer would be looking at those map prices really in the instance of if their client was gonna shop them essentially, right? They want to be like, okay, I'm selling this to my client for X, Y, and Z, whatever this price was. And I want to make sure if they went and looked it up, it's not way cheaper somewhere else. Is that correct? CL: Yeah, that's correct. And again, if you're on that cost plus business model, you're looking at that and saying, well, that's what I'm earning. That's the margin I'm earning for this product. AC: Got it. Okay, perfect. Well, let's dig into retail a little bit because I feel like the retail landscape has shifted so much with everyone I talked to here on the show. They're like we're in a whole new whole different ballpark. How do you see trade versus retail evolving? And where do you think designers are fitting into that future? You know, when you can get Lolloi products at, you know, direct to consumer retailers, but it's also something that designers are able to source and put directly into someone's home. What are you guys really seeing in the shifts moving forward? CL: I think it goes back to being transparent as a vendor about where the products will show up, what products are protected by a map price and which ones are not. Like to your point, it's pretty common that a lot of vendors will have at least some of their products available online. You know, you have to sort of ask or be aware which ones are protected by map pricing so you don't get undercut and which ones are online whatsoever. We have a subset of our products to pick our highest end stuff. You will rarely find online. Some of it you won't find online if at all. Typically, the higher end a vendor is, the less you'll find them online. The reason for that, to be honest, is because it's very, very difficult to sell high end things online. And so it's not worth a sort of creating that friction to create that perception among the trade anyway. So that's why I think typically the more sort of like the very, sort of luxury vendors, those you will rarely see online. But if you look at even our product catalog, the more luxury products that we offer, those are not online typically either. AC: Let's talk about your product catalog because you have really mastered the blend of price points from really approachable price points and approachable products that are super durable. You know, my one year old can be on them all day with no issues all the way up to those luxury products. How do you think that that impacts a designer's ability to sell to their clients? And for those who maybe aren't as familiar with your more luxury pieces. Can you tell us more about that so that designers know that we can be sourcing really high end options from Loloi in addition to the ones that our toddlers are running around on? CL: I want to try to make it easy for the customer. So if they're designing a project and they're designing everything from a grand room that needs a 12 by 18 hand knotted rug that's going to last a lifetime, if not more, and then they're designing something for a kid's room, we want to be able to offer a range of options that make sense no matter the context. And so that's sort of the mentality that we have. It's one reason why the product catalog is so big. We offer sizes anywhere from like 2 by 3 to 12 by 18 and we stock those sizes. Those are not made to order. So we have just hundreds of thousands worth of square foot of warehouse space in Dallas and then in Georgia to make sure that we're in stock as best as we can be to service the customer. You know, talk about another change in the industry. People don't really want to wait anymore either. So that's sort of how we're built and that's how we can accommodate that. AC: In general, and I know that everything is very like product specific, but when we are talking about lead times and the fact that you guys do stock things, can you talk to us a little bit about on average what someone could expect when ordering? How transparent is that on the website? And I think what everybody's really wondering is how accurate is it on the website if you are able to get to it? CL: Yeah, so on the website you will see an ETA and that means the product is on the water. So we have a way of tracking those containers when they leave the country's resource and create these products from. We have that information and it's in our ERP system and that's what's reflected on the site. Now, of course, you know, if there's a port strike, things get lost. There are occasions where the ETAs are not perfect, but by and large, they're pretty reliable and available. AC: Got it. And if you needed something for project, you know, in two weeks, is there a way to filter through and know exactly like what is sitting in Dallas or Georgia? CL: Exactly. Yeah, we have it just to in stock filter makes it easy. And most of these items ship, they ship out the same day, if not, you the next business day. And then just depending on the carrier and the size of the product, it'll take anywhere from 24 hours if it's close to maybe five business days if it's going via like a large freight carrier. AC: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, I'd also love to talk about your designer collabs and those collections. I know you said your brother's into product design, your dad's still doing product design, and we'll get into actual operations and how Loloi runs. But how are you guys deciding who you want to have collaborations with? What are the things you're looking for in a designer? Obviously, we can all imagine, you know, what is their visibility? What's their following? That sort of thing. But what helps you identify someone who's gonna be a great partner? CL: First we wanna look at their sort of like design point of view. Is it one that aligns well with our brand? Can we see ourselves creating great products that reflect their aesthetic and reflect Loloi's values? It always comes like product comes first and foremost at Loloi. We feel like if we don't get that right, none of the other stuff really matters. So that's something we look for first and foremost when we're having these conversations. We make sure that there is sort as philosophical alignment there. And then, yeah, you want to look for reputation and credibility. Not only, you know, are these people reasonably well known, but what's the reputation in the industry? Would people be excited to see their products and get that point of view? And then with each partner, we potentially add to the mix. We also have to make sure their look is not too similar to someone we have in the existing roster. We don't want to cannibalize or have crossover or make it feel like we're coming out with products that are similar to what we've done in the past. This industry, I think the reason why they come to market, they want to see fresh newness. They want to see creativity. And so there's always that sort of like pressure and demand from a vendor to always come out with something fresh and different. AC: How long does that process take when you've like agreed that you're gonna onboard someone for a new collaboration? How many seasons ahead are you working with them to design that before we'd actually see it in person? CL: It's about 18 months. Depends on the construction, hand-knotted takes, you know, up to 18 months and there's a little bit longer, product's power looms a little bit shorter of a timeline. But when you factor in, one, to get a design point of view, mood boards, we do a ton of sampling. We have stacks in our gallery of products, never got to see the light of day, because there are just, there are samples and we're pretty sort of stringent around what makes the cut and what doesn't. And so there's a process that goes on here to make sure that only the best products, the ones that we believe in make the line because we buy inventory before we launch it because we want to be in stock close to being in stock by the time we release the product. So we have to believe in it. AC: Do your collaborators get to see the iterations of samples or do they only see, you know, when you guys feel like it's at the finish point? CL: No, no, they're seeing, they're seeing like, you know, meaningful sort of like progress along the way, but they're seeing these sort of progress milestones, because it has to be that alignment. They have to like the construction, they have to like the colors, they have to make sure they like the quality. We don't want any surprises at the end, they don't want that. And so we try to sort of bring each other along for that journey. AC: I have to say, Cyrus, I've talked to some other designers and brands and not everybody provides that level of access to the collaborators. And that's something I really respect and admire about you guys, because I know that if I was ever looking at a product and my name was on it at the end, I would want to make sure that I got to see all of those details, not only from obviously like a quality control standpoint, but also to learn to be able to serve you and design better in the future as well. So I love that you guys build that into your process. Okay, let's talk scaling strategy operations business side of things. What does your team structure look like now compared to those early days when your dad was just starting it out? CL: It's completely transformed. would say we're now a proper medium sized company. We have different divisions for things like product development, marketing, sales, IT. IT is something that is not just an afterthought anymore. Technology is a big part of, I think, how a vendor and a company can grow. So I've gained just a deeper appreciation for a function like that over the years. HR, all those things that a company needs to sort of mature and take things to the next level is kind of where we're at today. AC: I see so often designers end up with branding that feels trendy in the moment, but quickly becomes dated. The result is a visual identity that doesn't keep pace with the caliber of your work. And in an industry where clients are making decisions based on first impressions, that disconnects can hold you back from the projects you really want. At IDCO Studio, we understand this challenge because we've worked alongside interior designers at every stage of business. Our team knows what it takes to create a brand that not only feels current, but also has the longevity to grow with you for years to come. That's why we've created our semi-custom brands. Limited release collections designed specifically for interior designers. Each collection is only sold five times, giving you a polished, professional identity that feels elevated and distinct. Every package includes a tailored visual identity with primary and secondary logos, multiple brand marks, and ready-to-print stationery customized to reflect your unique vision without the time and investment of a fully custom project. You can browse the current collection at idco.studio and as a thank you for listening, use code podcast15 for 15% off. If you'd like to talk through it, you can book a complimentary consultation at idco.studio/bookacall. AC: You talked to us briefly about like what your background was in school and what you really leaned into with marketing, but what role do you personally play inside the organization and where are you really like, where do you most enjoy being hands on and where have you kind of stepped back and let your massive team handle? CL: Primarily spend, I would say, maybe 70% of my time in the world of marketing. It's something I'm very passionate about. I feel like the industry in general is pretty fragmented. It's something I noticed when I first started. And I think there's a real opportunity to be thoughtful, do it in a thoughtful way, but be a brand in the industry that people are aware of, that people respect. You look at fashion, you look at other industries, we sell a beautiful product in this industry. So I think it has that potential and it's something that I've been very motivated to do. I think we've been able to achieve it to a degree. We still have a long way to go. We're not trying to get there overnight. We're trying to do it the right way. But I think there's a lot of opportunity for companies in this industry to embrace marketing as a vehicle for growth in their business. Where I think traditionally it was just thought like, you know, we create these like beautiful showrooms. People will show up. Good product, good price. That's it. I've always thought even though we are B2B, we're still selling to human beings. Experience. The experience, not just the property, the experience matters. AC: What do you think makes people still come to market when they are able to see everything online and they've experienced the product in the past? What would you say to someone who's like, is it worth going back to High Point or should I go to Dallas? Should I go to Vegas? Because I feel like everything's online and it's a big expense for my team. CL: The markets will like me saying this. I don't think we need as many as we do, but I still believe in market. If I was a designer, I would at least go to one high point market a year. If you're going to discover new products, either with their existing vendors or brand new ones, it is sort of like the Mecca for the trade show of the design and home furnishings industry. And there's just great energy there. There's educational events. You're going to meet other people in the industry. I actually enjoy it every time I go, though, geez, I've been in this industry for 15 years, so guess I've been almost 30 times now. But I enjoy it every time I go, and I learn a lot every time I go. AC: What do you think makes Loloi stand out from an experiential standpoint in such a competitive sub-market of rugs? I mean, there are a lot of rug vendors. There's a lot of vintage available. What do you think makes Loloi special in the way that you experience it as a designer? CL: I think first and foremost the emphasis on product and value. I think if people look at our prices, they think it's very fair. The products are generally, think, obviously, I have some bias. My father personally works on the products and has for his whole career. He's going to India personally. He's going to Turkey. He's going to Egypt. He's going to those places. And yes, we have a great product design team that's about 25 people strong and adult over time. And my brother, Steven, is personally involved also. But when you build a company and that is like the central function, that's sort of the DNA, it propped as king. I like to think that's reflected in what we do. And I'll give little examples. When we create a collection, it comes in maybe, let's say 10 sizes. Some companies may outsource the CAD creation for fringe size, like a three by five or a 12 by 15. We're doing all of that in house because we want to make sure that every size scales appropriately, the colors, the border, everything makes sense on an individual skew basis and not just, you know, the rug that you see when you're looking at the site or coming to a showroom. The thing I first and foremost is just like, despite all the marketing you may see from the and all that stuff, really like at its core, we view ourselves as as a product company. So I think that value hopefully shines and people see that and feel that in the market. AC: That's such an interesting nuance that I wouldn't even think about the fact that once you've designed a rug and then it goes to production that you would outsource, okay, now we need this in nine other sizes, make it happen. Thank you for giving such a specific example, because I'm like, wow, that blew my mind. Let's talk about what's happening right now and in the past, I guess it's been like two years now since launching Joon Loloi, coming up on two years. And then I want to look ahead as well. So talk to us about the sister brand, Joon Loloi, what was the spark that made you want to create that sister brand? There's so much storytelling involved in that brand. Just walk us through it. CL: We started working on Joon Loloi, I would say about two and a half years ago. It launched December, 2024. So it's not even a year old yet, but it's a lot of labor of love that we've built. My brother and I, it was really sort of our passion. I don't want to say projects, really like a side business. And Amir supported us emotionally and financially, but he said, you know what guys, if you want to do this, I'll support you, but this is y'all's thing. And so Amir is just a hundred percent focused on Loloi while Steven and I sort of our focus. But it was really a dream to have a separate but related sort of sister business that was not just rugs, but total home furnishings. And so if you go to Joon Loloi, you'll see furniture, lighting, art, decor. Next spring we're coming out with bedroom and bedding. And so we really invested a lot of effort and energy into this business and hopefully it shows to the market. It's been really, really rewarding to see how many designers have chosen to give Joon Loloi an opportunity. And some designers that I'll look at the orders and I'm like, my God, I love that designer. They do incredible work and they selected XYZ product and I think maybe Steve and I are wired a little bit like my father. We wanted to sort of launch something and to have it be 20 years after he did Loloi. I think it's something cool about that. AC: Why did you and Steven decide to launch Joon Loloi as a digitally native brand rather than following a traditional wholesale model like your dad did and also not as like a traditional brick and mortar retailer the way that a lot of home furnishing stores really started out? CL: I think Loloi review that as a company that covers that to the trade model really well. You we have showrooms at High Point, in Dallas, in Las Vegas. We do a lot to the trade marketing. We have independent sales reps throughout the nation. We do drop shipping via warehouses. You know, all those things that these sort of establish to the trade vendors do, Loloi does that. And what we've noticed that we talked about earlier is some, you know, some designers and consumers are behaving a little bit differently in terms of like they're comfortable engaging with the digital platform. And so we really put a lot of resources and energy towards building a Joon Loloi digitally native who knows what it may evolve into. But that was the focus. And I would say another really, really difficult but rewarding part of it was building a completely separate proc blind. We knew we could not have just Loloi products on Joon Loloi. We didn't want to compete with, you know, retailers and designers that helped build Loloi. That wouldn't be fair. That's not the right way to do it. So we did it the hard way, but it's been very rewarding. AC: What are some of the product categories you're most excited to be introducing beyond rugs? CL: Furniture and then lighting as a personal favorite of mine also. I never thought earlier in my career get the opportunity to work on it, but those categories just opportunity to sort of be able to offer total home. I think be sort of that more lifestyle oriented retailer. That was the vision and it's really exciting to see it. I've been doing a lot of research and study lately on the concept of creatives just being so multifaceted and being committed to just like one business model or like one service offering. It can feel so limiting and that's what marketing has taught us for so long. It's like you need to pick a niche, stick to that, that's what you do. But as creatives, that can be really hard and feel really limiting. And even though you're definitely like the business side of the brain, AC: I do see you as a creative in so many ways. And so I think this concept of launching a sister brand is really relevant to a lot of people listening. What lessons have upon scaling are you taking from Loloi that you are now building into Joon, which is, you know, a baby in comparison, especially it's your baby, you and your brother's baby. So what are some of the things that you're like, I've learned this at Loloi and we're either tweaking it or we're repeating it over at Joon. CL: I think you have to be really eyes wide open about what it's going to take to build a sister business. Many of the people listening to this podcast, they know how difficult it is to run their existing business. And so I think you have to ask yourself, do I have the resources in place or can I hire the resource with internally or externally to help make this happen? Joon Loloi had a lot of advantages that a true startup does not. We have the existing infrastructure. had some existing staff. Joon Loloi has some of its own staff. That's true. But you know, like the warehouse function, for example, we had existing warehouses that are capable of receiving and shipping products. That's just one example. IT infrastructure is another. All those things you have to think about. Finance, everything. And the finance part is that really underpins it all. Loloi has been able to support Joon Loloi and obviously I had a lot of expenses before I began earning a single dollar. So I think being mindful of those things is really, really important. I think the good news for anyone maybe who's smaller, sort of flying under the radar is you don't have to come out with a big bang like we did. We felt that pressure. The Loloi has a reputation. When we launch something new and put our name on it, it has to be amazing. Otherwise, not only have I disappointed the Joon Loloi sort of potential, but also the Loloi business, they share the same name versus if you're smaller and flying under the radar, I don't think you have to put that same level of investment or pressure on yourself. So it just depends on what kind of business you have, what your goals are. But we certainly felt like it had to be great from the very beginning and there was no other option. AC: Yeah, that's so honest. Thank you. Let's talk about technology a little bit. I know we've touched on it a few times. Designers are shopping differently than they used to. And especially designers who are newer to the business, like they've only known being able to source everything online. From AI to digital sampling, how do you see technology shaping how designers source product over the next five years? And what are you guys doing to anticipate that? CL: I am not an AI expert, but I do think it's going to change quite a bit. Can you imagine a day where you can just use LLM search to say I'm looking for a brown rug with this border and these other complimentary colors in this size, it's in stock. And who knows, maybe there won't even be a vendor sites anymore. Maybe it'll just aggregate different results and drive you to them. and, and they'll be the ones taking a little fee from the, from the vendors, opposed to the Google's paid searches. don't really know. I use chat, GPT and AI quite a bit. think a lot of people do. So it's got that wide adoption. And I think the industry is going to have to be nimble and be on its front feet because I think it's gonna change a lot. I don't think it's gonna change like everything radically at least not in this short term. I think they're still gonna be a desire to see products in person Still talk to human beings still have relationship with your cells up if that's how you like to do business So I think it's gonna be like part of the mix, but I do anticipate it changing a lot AC: With so many vendors competing for designers' attention, what advice do you have to designers listening when they are evaluating which partners are truly worth investing in, and which partners they should be putting project equity in, and which partners they should spend time building those relationships? CL: Obviously, you know, you wanna do some little bit of research in the industry. You're gonna, designers have the best eye for products. You know, they're gonna follow their eye and they're gonna do the right thing for the client and the project. That's what they're hired to do and that's what a great designer does. I just think you also wanna pay attention to some of the other stuff, right? You wanna make sure that they can ship reliably, they have good service, they have fair policies. And I think, you I assume you also want to keep things manageable. Once you get, once you grow your vendor account to a certain point, things like billing and all that kind of stuff becomes a little bit more challenging. But a lot of vendors these days, they made it easier than ever to sign up for an account. A lot of vendors don't have order minimums anymore. Used to be vendors that didn't want to do business with the designers. That mentality changed a long time ago. So it's, it's, you know, it's really up to the designer. AC: When you look at what your dad, your brother, and you have done at Loloi, what are you most proud of? CL: How far we've come and the reputation that we have in the industry, I like to think people think we've done things the right way. Joon Loloi is an example where we could have taken Loloi's products and slapped a new name on and gone D to C, but we knew that wasn't the right way to do it. That would have been unfair to our customers. And the products, you know, these opportunities like being on this podcast and stuff like that, it may seem like, like just, of course, like this stuff happens all the time. But when I first started in industry, no one knew who Leloi was. No one cared about the brand. It was really hard to hire good employees, no collaboration partner would return my email or calls. And so I think what we've built is respect. And that's what means the most. AC: When you look at the next 10 years, what do you want Loloi and Joon Loloi to be positioned as in the industry? CL: My father said we want to be the best. We don't we're not focused on being the biggest. There might be folks that are bigger than others, bigger than us, sorry, even though we've grown considerably. And so I think maintain that reputation of doing things the right way, having great products. That's what matters the most to us. AC: And before we wrap up, is there anything exciting or top secret that you're allowed to tell me that is in the pipeline that you can share with those listening? And for the record, Cyrus and I are talking just a few days before High Point. And so I don't know what we're allowed to talk about, but I'm hoping we can hear some news. CL: Well, I could share this. This fall high point, we will launch with a great product line with a designer that we really respect. And we've been working on that for about a year and a half now. And then on the Joon Loloi side of the business, we're getting into some exciting new categories next year. So stay tuned for that. And I don't know if Anastasia wants to be sharing this, but we're even doing something a little special on the side with, with Anastasia for Joon Loloi. So stay tuned for that. AC: We are. I'm so, so excited for that. I can't wait for you guys to see what they've been working on and how I played a very small role in the magic they've created. Thank you, Cyrus, so much. This was fantastic. It was such an honor to hear your family story and just feel more connected to the brand that I've already respected and admired for so long. So thank you for your time. AC: For more in-depth analysis of this interview, including exclusive downloads, examples, and more, don't forget to subscribe to the Interior Collective on Patreon. We are building an amazing private community of interior designers and industry experts open to candid conversations and answering questions. Join us on Patreon in the show notes or at patreon.com forward slash the Interior Collective. Thank you so, so much for tuning into this episode. Producing this show has truly been the honor of my career and I cannot believe I get to have these conversations. A big, huge thank you to our production team at IDCO Studio and Kwin Made. Your contribution literally makes this podcast feasible. And the biggest thank you to you, our listeners. Your sweet notes, DMs and reviews mean so much to us as we work to keep our show free and always accessible. Until next time, I'm Anastasia Casey and this is The Interior Collective a podcast for the business of beautiful living. AC: If your website has not been updated in a couple of years, chances are it is costing you clients. Outdated layouts, clunky functionality, and poor mobile design don't just look unprofessional. They make it harder for your dream clients to trust and hire you. That is where our limited edition website templates come in. Designed exclusively for interior designers, these templates are built in Wix Studio, the platform's most powerful editor. With layouts that balance both style and strategy, which is imperative to attract both decision makers on a project. 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