There is a lot going on at MCM House’s Paddington headquarters. Sitting directly across the road from what is about to be one of Australia’s hottest new hotel openings, the 25hours Hotel, MCM is the OG in the neighbourhood, and has held this coveted position for 15 years. Right now, maybe encouraged by the design precinct’s recent resurgence, the team are mid-renovation of their expanding outdoor department, one section of five shopfronts connected to create one super-store. MCM
It may be a store refresh, but founder and creative director Charles Hinckfuss is keeping it completely MCM. The look is all about soaring ceilings in a historic-feeling building with enormous windows to the street and a collection of furniture stamped with contemporary comfort. There are lots of oversized, sculptural flower cuttings in generous vases and a creamy, warm palette mixing his core materials of timber, linen, concrete, steel and leather.
It’s hard to believe that MCM House started out of the back of a van, with a single table and Charlie at the wheel, determined to kickstart a business. “It’s not like I started with a 10-year business plan,” he explains, “but it’s like anything that you start for yourself – you’re probably going to have to do things that are superhuman to get there.”
That means growing his business from one staff member to 100 and developing that single table into a series of furniture collections to fill six Australian showrooms. The success is in the consistency of style, he says.
“I call it ‘classic’. As we’ve grown and opened more showrooms and had more space, we’ve been able to flex that out a bit, but natural elements are always the foundation and it’s important that it’s something that you can have for a long period of time in your house.”
Next is a renewed focus on the outdoor category, with four dedicated outdoor collections that are sophisticated and attainable, with an eye on all-weather durability. “Obviously the environment here is pretty brutal,” Charlie says of the resilient offerings.
The other big focus is customer experience. MCM customers are a loyal bunch, entrenched in their classic and casual holiday aesthetics, and while they get to experience Charlie’s seductive creative direction in store, there’s also a plan to connect directly. A new VIP loyalty club will come with member savings and special access to stock, and a series of invite-only seasonal events. “We have a massive network of industry peers that we are going to be bringing in to hold talks and do events,”
Charlie explains. “I’ve grown MCM through relationships and this is a good way to reconnect that with our customers.”
