Firdaus Nagree: Creating Positive, Transformative Spaces

Meet Firdaus Nagree, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, father, husband, a passionate scuba diver and the Founder & CEO of FCI London, one of the largest luxury furniture and interiors brands in the UK.

Firdaus started his career as a strategy consultant with Accenture. Subsequently he became involved in the London property scene, trading properties from the age of 21. He has actively served as an executive, board member, or investor in various sectors like Digital Hospitality, F&H, Construction, Interior Design, Retail Bridge Finance, Proptech, Education, Aggregated Logistics, Property, Insurance, and On-Demand Food Delivery.

Recently, Firdaus has also become involved with Entrepreneurs Organisation, a global network of entrepreneurs aiming to help members learn, grow, and find peer support. Currently, the organisation has 14,000 members who intend to learn from each other and have a safe place where they can be honest about their successes and failures.

The Inception Story

Firdaus comes from a family of entrepreneurs. In 1985, his parents founded a furniture business named Furniture Craft in the UK.

While working for Accenture, Firdaus noticed a real opportunity to turn Furniture Craft from a mom-and-pop shop into something much bigger. He joined his family business to help it grow and evolve, which eventually laid the foundation for FCI London.

From the beginning, Firdaus focused on the high-end, luxury corner of the furniture market.

He says, “Our audience is quite niche they are well educated, well-travelled, and they have a high net worth. They don’t purchase from us frequently; they’ll buy a high-end Italian sofa or top of the range dining table, and then we might not see them again for 10 years. But if what we offer is the best available, they will come back. That was the space that I wanted to play in.”

Since then, FCI London has grown into a prominent business with a reputation for uncovering hidden gems and importing exclusive pieces from the world’s most respected designers. Presently FCI London is one of the most well-known luxury furniture and interior brands in the UK., showcasing more than 700 of the world’s best brands under one roof in their 30,000 sq. ft. North London showroom.

With a mission to create transformative and positive spaces, FCI London also offers a comprehensive interior design service with a trained design team.

Breaking New Ground

Since the inception of FCI London, Firdaus and his team have stuck to their original goal of providing the best quality luxury furniture and premium interior design service for the UK. market. However, in recent years, the brand has expanded into new territories. Firdaus is currently focusing on growing the B2B side of the business and exploring how the team can use new technology to harness the power and attraction of the metaverse. But it’s not just new external goals that the company is aiming for. There has also been a gradual shift in internal influences as well.

“I would say the biggest shift in priorities has been for me personally. It took me many years to figure out how important company culture is and what it takes to get the team right. Once I realised that and started focusing my decision-making based on the culture I wanted, the individuals in my team were able to grow and evolve in an environment which supports them as they support each other,” says Firdaus. He believes FCI London now has the best team in its history, mainly due to a group of great individuals whose core values align with the company and each other.

Firdaus also explains that E.O. has played a big role in his growth as a leader and influenced what he values. It has taught him that the best leaders are not afraid to ask for help and that if you accept the fact that you don’t know it all, you can learn from others, which is both empowering and humbling.

Transforming the Lives of Less Privileged Children

“I’ve been gifted an exceptional life by God or the universe or whatever you want to call it. The way I see it, that gift comes with responsibilities. When I give back, I feel good, I feel productive, and I feel I’m at my most valuable. There’s a personal serotonin hit, of course. But there’s also this sense of being part of a greater purpose,” asserts Firdaus.

A share of the brand’s annual profits goes to Yuva Unstoppable, which is working to transform the lives of less privileged children by educating and feeding them. Yuva also focuses on upgrading basic infrastructure facilities in schools and providing much-needed access to various modern means of teaching and learning.

FCI London also supports an NGO called WeForest, a movement of responsible companies with a mission to conserve and restore the ecological balance of our forests and landscapes to stop global warming.

Future Roadmap

Over the last decade or so, the online aspect of the furniture and interior design industry has really taken off. Social media has played a part in increasing the visibility of smaller brands. There’s a real emphasis on making interior design accessible to everyone across all price levels instead of being a playground for the ultra-wealthy.

This accessibility and new software advances mean people can see what their refreshed interiors might look like before spending the money.

Inspired by these factors, Firdaus, along with his team, is working on developing a global SaaS platform, which will revolutionise how people access design advice and allow them to optimise their living spaces without breaking the bank. FCI London’s goal is to make people happy by transforming their spaces.

Firdaus says, “If we can make someone’s space visually perfect to suit their style and keep it within their budget, it will go a long way towards contributing to their overall happiness, hopefully inspiring them to then pay it forward.”

The brand is also looking at how tech innovation contributes to the luxury furniture industry and how it can use these new trends to make the experience even better for the customers. FCI London is currently exploring the exciting world of NFTs and how they can be used to add value for their clients.