Shaping the King Living Commercial Footprint in Queensland

Rachel Sweetman may only be a new addition to the King Living team but she’s hit the ground running in her role as Contract Sales Leader in the Trade and Commercial team. Based in Queensland, Rachel is tasked with expanding the King Living presence in the commercial sector.

“My job is really about spreading the word,” Rachel explains. “After five decades, King Living has such a strongly established residential reputation. My job is to help designers, architects and businesses discover the full potential of King Living beyond residential projects.”

With years of experience in hospitality sales and a passion for building strong client relationships, Rachel brings her expertise to a market that’s in a period of rapid growth. She shares her insights on the value King Living offers commercial clients and how she leverages her hospitality experience to navigate the complexities of the industry.

Out and about visiting local design and architecture firms to deliver samples and gifts.

From LA to Brisbane

Rachel only moved to Australia in late 2023, after saying goodbye to Los Angeles to be closer to her husband’s family in Brisbane. While living in LA, Rachel worked in hospitality – from large hotel chains to smaller boutique hotels – in event sales.

“That experience taught me all about customer service, attention to detail and seeing projects through from beginning to end,” she says. “That background has allowed me to hit the ground running, focusing on learning the King Living product range and networking with commercial clients.”

While Brisbane is vastly different from LA, Rachel is excited by the activity in the city with new developments in preparation for the 2032 Olympics.

“My hospitality experience lends itself so well to all the new buildings and activity in Brisbane right now,” she adds. “It’s such an exciting time and the city is thriving.”

Rachel is pictured at the Brisbane Showroom.

A day in the life

Before she started at King Living, so much of the work Rachel did in her previous hospitality career was about networking and prospecting for leads. It’s the same in her role at King Living where she connects with architects, designers and businesses to showcase the potential of the trade and commercial program.

“I’m hitting the pavement, getting out there, putting together proposals, getting quotes done,” Rachel explains. “I need companies to realise that King Living isn’t just for residential spaces, but also for commercial projects like hotel lobbies and renovations. What makes my job easier is that clients can immediately see the value and quality of our offering for their fit-out.”

Based in Brisbane at the Fortitude Valley showroom, Rachel is also at the Gold Coast showroom every second week.

“The Gold Coast is an equally thriving region,” she says. “Clients often want to see the products in person. While they can pop into any showroom at any time, they really value that consistency of having a single point of contact.”

King Trade sample boxes are available for industry professionals to explore fabric, leather, and finish options.

Educating the commercial market

At the heart of Rachel’s role is expanding the commercial and trade base.

“Not that many designers, architects or even the general population know about the trade program,” Rachel shares. But she is rapidly changing that, networking and connecting with trade clients to educate them about the offering.

“For commercial clients, what we offer is actually quite incredible,” she adds. “We have our complete collection of premium fabrics and European leathers but we can also source fabrics from outside the King Living collection.”

This flexibility allows Rachel to meet the specific needs of clients, whether it’s for a hotel lobby, an office space or a hospitality project.

“I recently had a client with a hotel project and a very specific colour palette. They sent me their Pantone colour palette and I was able to source fabric from a supplier to match perfectly.”

As King Living is a vertically integrated company with design flexibility, Rachel is able to offer completely bespoke solutions for large-scale projects.

“If a client wants something we don’t make yet and they’re ordering enough of it, our design team can create it,” Rachel notes.

Rachel is excited about the possibilities of expanding the King Living trade and commercial program in Queensland and supporting more clients to discover the benefits.

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