Lumsden joins Small Back Room

Lumsden Design Partnership and Small Back Room are joining forces to create a new retail design enterprise, Lumsden At Small Back Room. Callum Lumsden will become creative director of what he describes as ‘an autonomous team nestled within Small Back Room’.


Both companies hope to build Lumsden At Small Back Room into a major player in the retail design sector, with a focus on emerging markets. Lumsden will head a team of 15, which he hopes to expand to 45 next year.


All seven staff at retail specialist LDP will be retained, assures Lumsden, but will move to Small Back Room’s office in Waterloo, London SE1.


Small Back Room, set up nearly 30 years ago, employs 38 staff in London and has an office in Barcelona. It plans to retain its existing management structure, led by managing director John Rushton.


Rushton says, ‘This is a perfect fit for us. We are ideally placed to capitalise on LDP’s retail work, and jointly we will be able to offer broader-based experience and integrated skills.’


Lumsden adds that the bigger company will contribute ‘improved systems and sparky designers’ to the table, while he will contribute superior retail design credentials.


‘We were never competitors,’ says Lumsden. ‘Small Back Room wants to expand into retail and museums and I really want to step it up a gear. Having the support of Small Back Room’s marketing, accounts and IT teams will be great for a small business like mine.’


LDP will continue to exist in name only ‘for financial reasons’.

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