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OKA (OKA Direct) is a British luxury furniture and home accessories retailer founded in 1999 by Annabel Astor, Sue Jones and Lucinda Waterhouse. OKA now has 11 shops across the UK together with British, European and American websites and a catalogue business. == History == OKA started as a mail order company in 1999, before opening its first shop in 2000. The idea for an interiors business came to Annabel when she was struggling to find good quality, stylish furniture at an affordable price to furnish a house in Florida. Since the beginning, Annabel, her sister-in-law Sue Jones and friend Lucinda Waterhouse have travelled all over the Far East to source products for the range and still do the buying today. The initial product range was 'rattan' for the first OKA catalogue – which was photographed in Jane Churchill and Bruce Oldfield's homes - followed by painted wooden furniture, alongside replicas of 18th century blue and white porcelain and a range of Chinoiserie furniture.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/oka-rules-ok-yah-how-annabel-astor-is-catering-for-the-middle-classes-6503363.html )〕 Today, OKA is known for its 'inspirational' lifestyle lookbook which feature three different interior designed homes every spring, summer and autumn, and the brand has been described by interiors journalists as 'elegantly bohemian'.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1388675/Lady-Annabel-Astor-Samantha-Camerons-mother-opens-remarkable-extended-family.html )〕 OKA has two flagships showrooms in the UK that house the entire collection: in the Cotswolds, the Broadway shop is a 14-roomed Georgian house which opened in 2008 and the Chelsea flagship shop on Fulham Road opened in 2010 with three floors, becoming OKA's biggest showroom.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/interiorsandshopping/8034231/Oka-Lady-Astors-new-flagship-furniture-store.html )〕 The other shops are located in Abingdon, Froxfield, Sunninghill, Harrogate, Parsons Green, Marlow, Notting Hill and Saffron Walden. OKA also has two outlets which stock end of line items and seconds: South Godstone (opened in 2007) and Abingdon (opened in April 2013). In September 2011, OKA opened a concession in the department store Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, and the concession closed on 24 February 2013.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/articles/22033-furniture-retailer-oka-arrives-at-london-selfridges )〕 In 2009, OKA’s warehousing facilities moved from Berinsfield to a larger warehouse facility of over 100,000 sq ft based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mepc.com/parklife/miltonpark/News/OKAMovestoMiltonPark.aspx )〕 where their customer service and head office is also based. The ecommerce website launched in 2001, followed by a redesign in 2011 and a responsive site redesign for tablet and mobile in 2013.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=https://www.behance.net/gallery/Web-Design/11322945 )〕 On 18 July 2013, OKA launched their interiors and lifestyle blog, Tuk Tuk, offering design tips, how to guides and an insight into current interiors trends.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.okadirect.com/blog/welcome-to-the-oka-blog/ )〕 OKA signed Total Media in April 2014 as their media agency to oversee online and offline advertising.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.totalmedia.co.uk/insights/news/oka-selects-total-media-to-put-products-at-the-heat-of-the-new-campaign )〕 In May 2014, it was announced that Peter Chappelow had been appointed as non-executive chairman, replacing Graham Frost.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10855376/Lady-Astors-OKA-appoints-retail-veteran.html )〕 In October 2014, Octavia Morley was appointed as CEO.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.retail-week.com/people/oka-direct-appoints-octavia-morley-as-chief-executive/5065415.article )〕 On 22 August 2014, the OKA Froxfield shop was closed until further notice following a fire the previous evening.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-28892342 )〕 The 8,000 sqft showroom was completely rebuilt and was officially re-opened on 26 August 2015 by the Mayor of Marlborough.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/13718566.Shop_destroyed_by_fire_back_open_for_business/ )〕 OKA reported a 23% rise in online sales and 17% rise in overall profit for 2013, taking their annual turnover to £19.9m.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/sales/11094637/Lady-Astors-OKA-posts-profit-surge-after-wooing-younger-shoppers.html )〕 On 31 January 2015, the OKA Edinburgh shop closed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「OKA Direct」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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