Detroit furniture startup Floyd bought by Moosejaw cofounder

A Detroit furniture company that generated lots of buzz as a startup and went on to win design awards has been sold.

The company, Floyd, designs and sells various types of direct-to-consumer furniture, including living room and bedroom pieces. It was started in Detroit in 2013 by then-recent college graduates Alex O'Dell and Kyle Hoff, with some of its earliest funding coming from a Kickstarter campaign.

Floyd was acquired late last month by a larger Ohio-based furniture company, Rize Home. Rize has been around since 1952 and manufactures bed frames and also sells furniture.

Rize's owner and chief executive is David Jaffe, 54, who was one of the original co-founders in the 1990s of Michigan-based outdoor apparel and gear retailer Moosejaw. Terms of the Floyd deal weren't disclosed.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Jaffe said that Floyd will remain its own distinct brand and they intend to grow the brand and expand its reach through new retail channels.

Floyd will continue to have a Detroit office, he said, and its co-founders, O'Dell and Hoff, will continue to have roles "setting the direction of Floyd."

"It has a really unique identity and they've built an unbelievable brand that we don't intend to touch," Jaffe said. "It's still going to be a Detroit brand. It's still going to be a brand that's focused on design and sustainability.

"Where we add value, and really why we felt this was a good deal for us, is that the things that they are really good at are the things that we haven't really had to focus on a lot," Jaffe added. "We do very little direct-to-consumer. And so building an outward-facing (retail model) was not something that we always focused on — and is something that they're really good at."

Floyd will be closing its headquarters office at 1948 Division St. in Detroit's Eastern Market. There are plans to relocate the Floyd office to Corktown, Jaffe said, although the specific location hasn't been finalized.

"Not a lot is changing, and the synergies just make it possible to roll out new products, get more efficient in the logistics and figure out how we can introduce Floyd in the retail market where it makes sense," Jaffe said.

According to past media reports, Floyd saw strong sales in the early COVID-19 pandemic years and grew its employee headcount to 60 people. In 2021, Floyd reported raising $15 million from investors in a Series B, or second, funding round. It also won numerous design awards and national recognition in recent years, including for its sectional sofas.