Lovesac remains a force for good as Founder Shawn Nelson announces an exciting product launch 

Sewn from humble roots, Lovesac is the sectional or rather, Sactional, extraordinaire that has taken the furniture industry by storm. Manufactured using the best sustainable practices, Lovesac’s philosophy is nothing short of revolutionary – one that is defined by comfort, innovation and, most importantly, love. Retail Merchandiser has followed Lovesac’s journey over the years, but we’ve only covered a fraction of the story. 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Lovesac since it opened its very first store in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the company has only continued to flourish since then. Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shawn Nelson, joins us to discuss the business’ latest innovation and to discuss why Lovesac is not just your average furniture enterprise.  

“Lovesac is a business that I started in my parents’ basement; I made the first Sac when I was 18 years old. It was my side hustle in college,” Shawn begins. “In 1998,

after dragging this thing around for a few years, my neighbor convinced me to make one for them, and I then started a little business called Lovesac. 

“By 2000, we opened our first store in Salt Lake City, and it worked. We then began opening stores all over the West. We had plenty of ups and downs; I won a reality TV show with Richard Branson, and we enjoyed our fifteen minutes of fame. Then we had to start over with VC money, reorganize the company in 2006 and move it out to Connecticut. We invented ‘Sactionals’ – an extremely modular couch that could be with you for the rest of your life – and it took us around ten years to figure out how to sell those en masse. By 2015, we pivoted the entire business around Sactionals with a whole new retail concept that exploded and allowed us to go public in 2018, with around $100 million in sales. And that brings us to today. We’ve grown to around $700 million annually, we have 300 US locations, and we have a whole new platform coming over the next few years.” 

Adaptable solutions 

From that single Sac made 25 years ago, Lovesac has grown into the much-loved brand it is today, with more and more customers swooning over its long-lasting comfort solutions and quirky personality. Not to be confused with the ordinary beanbag, the Sacs are made using recycled materials and are filled with the fluffiest repurposed foam, described as “the closest you’ll get to sitting on an actual cloud”. They’re also fully customizable, available in five different sizes (up to six feet wide and four feet high!) with a wide range of machine-washable covers from which to choose. Similarly, Lovesac’s Sactionals (“sectionals made the Lovesac way”) can be easily and beautifully adapted to fit your space. The Sactionals are the couches that can do it all, available in a range of sizes and colors, with changeable seats and sides to move and adapt with your life. Much like the Sacs, Lovesac’s vast selection of machine-washable Sactional covers makes the product perfect for messy family life, or anybody who likes to switch up their look. Additionally, those looking to modernize their Sactional and build the couch of the future can take advantage of Lovesac’s StealthTech, modifying it with high-tech speakers, wireless charging and more.  

Inspirational message 

The company also offers a range of Sac and Sactional accessories, including the PillowSac Accent Chair, the AnyTable and FootSac blankets. Most importantly of all, however, Lovesac’s entire portfolio is manufactured in adherence to its ‘Designed For Life’ philosophy.  

“We’ve innovated a design philosophy that we call ‘Designed For Life’ – designing and redesigning things that can evolve and be built to last a lifetime,” Shawn shares. “Lovesac is not a furniture company; we sell furniture at the moment and will continue to invent new solutions, but ultimately, we are a product solutions company that leverages this unique philosophy.”  

Innovation and evolution are fundamental to Lovesac’s success. Renowned for impeccable quality, the company combines comprehensive R&D processes with trendy collaborations to design the best cutting-edge products for its customers. In line with its ‘Designed For Life’ ethos, Lovesac is thrilled to announce the launch of EverCouch. The launch signifies an exciting shift in Lovesac’s evolution as the business continues to move with its customer base.  

“Evercouch is a perfect example of ‘Designed for Life’,” Shawn explains. “Our stuff is expensive because it’s so well built; most of our competitors are selling sectionals that are priced similarly to ours, but those businesses are fairly traditional merchandising machines. They’re great at what they do – rugs, lamps, votive candles – but we are an inventor-led and research-led product development organization.  

“When researching our customers, our sales data showed that we don’t sell many couches, armchairs or sofas, only large format sectionals. So, we’ve just announced that we’re moving into couches, sofas, loveseats and armchairs with this new invention called EverCouch, which is a modular, shippable design much more fit for smaller spaces and urban living.”  

At its core, however, Lovesac is determined to be a force for good, shining the spotlight on the love it extends to its customers, vendors and the environment.  

“As a company that only makes a few things, we hold our vendor relationships really dear,” Shawn asserts. “We have this philosophy at Lovesac that “We can all win together”. It’s one of our core values. It’s an extension of conscious capitalism; all stakeholders can win when you’re working with transparency, honesty, integrity, and lots of love. It really comes back to our ultimate core value: Love Matters. We’re hanging it above our door, wearing it on our sweatshirts, putting it out into the world. It can be hard as a business – you hire, you fire, you run a profitable, sustainable organization, but you try to do it in good conscience with all the love that you can.  

“We’ve also recycled and repurposed over 300 million plastic bottles and counting because all of our upholstery fabric is made from 100 percent recycled bottles. We’re very proud of that. But the reason why we don’t lead with that in our marketing is because its small news. The big news is that we are putting objects into the world that are designed to function for decades, built to last and designed to evolve. It’s really satisfying for people who made that investment with us years ago. They can upgrade, change, trade in and trade up to create this circular business model that is the ultimate embodiment of true sustainability. We think it’s revolutionary.”  

Amidst a tumultuous climate and all of the challenges facing the industry, Lovesac’s dedication to doing good is truly inspiring. Concluding our conversation, Shawn reflects on what makes Lovesac special and offers an insightful message as we move into the future.  

“The simple message is that we will make the things that matter in your life – the big stuff that takes a lot of resources – and we will reinvent them through this ‘Design For Life’ model to try and win your love as a customer with these unique solutions that allow for true sustainability without beating you over the head with guilt. It’s not about guilt; it’s about leveraging your own self-interest to make better buying choices. It’s our stated purpose at Lovesac to inspire humankind to buy better stuff so they can buy less.”  

www.lovesac.com