Source Code Capital | Angela Zhu: Building a Brand with the Spirit of the Times
China needs a home goods brand that truly starts from the consumer and understands how Chinese people actually live.
She was IKEA China's employee #001, became the first Chinese CEO of IKEA in 2013, and was promoted to Global Commercial President of IKEA in 2018... As the highest-ranking Chinese executive in IKEA's history, Angela Zhu had built an extraordinary track record. Yet just as she was about to hit the ceiling, she made the bold decision to leave and start her own company, founding Chapter Home in March 2022.
As she put it, "When I became convinced that this era has given the hundred-billion-yuan home furnishing赛道 a new opportunity — one that demands fresh perspectives, new understanding, and new approaches to change and create — the pull of that other 'mountain peak' became something uplifting and worth chasing." Though fully aware of the uncertainties ahead, she wanted to embrace change, and the idea of burning once more for "something big" took hold. China needs a home furnishing brand that truly starts from the consumer and understands Chinese ways of living — and she happened to have the energy to build it.
China's market as a whole is upgrading and diversifying. But in the home furnishing industry, beyond the Swedish-born IKEA, brands that roll off the tongue are few and far between, and本土头部家居品牌 are virtually nonexistent. In this environment, creating a brand that represents a new generation of consumers and embodies a new spirit of living became the mission Angela Zhu set for herself.
Source Code Capital's "Leap of Faith" Livestream, Episode 13 visited the Chapter Home experience store on Shanghai's Huaihai Road, where founder Angela Zhu shared the company's sense of purpose and vision for the future. The former IKEA China president also offered her perspective and experience as a female entrepreneur.
Selected excerpts from the livestream
01
An IKEA Career Driven by Conviction:
From Employee #001 to Global Commercial President
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: From IKEA China's first employee to president of IKEA China and then global commercial president — what moments stand out?
Angela Zhu: Looking back on those 20-plus years always moves me. At 30, I successfully pitched myself and became the first Chinese store manager leading 400-plus employees. Those five years of hands-on work transformed my understanding of what true leadership means. In 2011, just as I was thriving as China sales director, I decided to leave my comfort zone for Germany then — IKEA's largest market at the time. In that relatively traditional, male-dominated society, the mindset of facing challenges head-on gave me a deeper grasp of diversity and inclusion, and taught me how to work with people across different cultural backgrounds, break conventions, and build trust.
Throughout these experiences — whether proposing to headquarters that China host IKEA's first product development center outside Sweden, or as CEO in China figuring out how to inspire belief and momentum to sustain the China growth model: not just the fastest store expansion in history, but simultaneously accelerating new store formats, e-commerce channels, digital transformation, and talent development — the driving force behind it all was conviction. Belief and persistence carried me from "dare not" to "dare," and turned "impossible" into "possible."
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: As the highest-ranking Chinese executive in IKEA, you had essentially reached the ceiling of the home furnishing industry. Why give up your distinguished record and start from scratch?
Angela Zhu: That's a great question. Over those 20-plus years at IKEA, my confidence and experience kept growing. Though I had climbed two-thirds of that mountain, there came a moment when I increasingly felt I might be standing still, that my energy wasn't fully unleashed. This era offers so many people opportunities, and when I saw how powerful that other "mountain peak" was, the process ultimately required courage to return to the starting point — even with a beginner's mindset. Because if I didn't do it, I wouldn't be at peace. When I was at Swedish headquarters, I used to fear I had become too good at meetings.
Thanks to 20-plus years of industry experience, when I observed changes in the home furnishing sector and user insights, I found many unmet needs — not just business opportunities, but a sense of mission: China needs a home furnishing brand that truly starts from the consumer, understands Chinese ways of living by providing valuable products and services for beautiful living, and I'm willing to pour my heart into building it. I remember when I was still CEO at IKEA, our annual global conference would select one store from 300 worldwide as Best Store Award. That year, when the Chinese flag waved under the cheers and spotlights, that sense of pride and mission surged forth. Furniture is a hundred-billion-yuan赛道 with no concentrated头部品牌, and it's intimately connected to everyone's beautiful life — from products to channels to home living, so many upgrade needs remain unmet, and I happened to have the energy to gather for this. For me personally, this was a major leap.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: Why choose to start up in 2021? Why not earlier?
Angela Zhu: 2018 was when I was riding high in China. One day I suddenly got a call from the global CEO, and within three weeks I had decided to go to Sweden — with great determination to drive global reform. By 2021, after the pandemic's trials, I started asking myself what kind of life and state of being I truly wanted. Whenever I quieted down, that "calling" would arrive. From overseas, I had been following industry changes and consumer demands in the domestic market.
Today China's本土家居业 remains supply-chain and manufacturing-driven, rather than brand-led or continuously挖掘市场新需求. With the transformation toward digitalization, intelligence, and sustainability, the enormous potential of China's home furnishing supply chain is gradually emerging and gaining industry attention.
Focusing on the new at-home lifestyles of post-85s and post-90s generations, they've moved beyond purely functional considerations to seeking design-forward, innovative products that satisfy spiritual upgrades; from pure刚需购买 to添置型家具 and氛围感单品 growth, "quality over quantity" is the consumption主张 of the new generation. Meanwhile, social commerce, livestreaming, and private domain operations are making demand for beautiful home living easier to "plant." This hundred-billion-yuan market needs to be挖掘, capturing pain points or bright spots in user scenarios and providing solutions. I wondered: what's the most worthwhile thing to do next? I realized that with over two decades in home furnishing, I could burn once more for the career I love.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: When you returned to China to start up, many senior IKEA China executives joined Chapter Home — but why didn't you give them big titles?
Angela Zhu: Finding fellow travelers is crucial for an entrepreneur. Then there's the pull of values. Many of them had already left IKEA, and I wanted to bring everyone together to accomplish something. Titles don't matter to us, nor did I want to transplant big外企 titles to a startup. What matters is whether you have an entrepreneurial heart, whether our mission, values, and ways of working align — we're these people, and together we'll get this done.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: From IKEA's first employee to CEO, then out to start your own company — what's the driving force behind this?
Angela Zhu: First, "curiosity." I've always maintained sharp insight into human nature — everyone has their story, and I hope to build deeper connections. Second, the energy to turn "impossible" into "possible," to make new attempts and practices in the industry.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: The furniture and home furnishing industry is a massive赛道, and startup teams have been entering for years, but few have grown large. As a former senior executive of an industry giant, why are you starting up now?
Angela Zhu: Furniture and home furnishing is indeed a large赛道, so why haven't concentrated头部品牌 emerged? I think there's an impossible triangle here. First is产品力: how to make product design more differentiated and let users truly feel value is key. Second is渠道: though China's supply chain has grown powerful over decades, many brands still think like factories, using dealer logic to sell through channels without much innovation. Third is情怀: what初心 you have and what story you tell also matter greatly. Only by bringing this impossible triangle together can greater energy be unleashed. Moreover, furniture and home furnishing operates differently from FMCG — FMCG can ride a wave of红利 with a few爆品 and run out an operational model, but this industry demands more perseverance and conviction. Only with persistence is there a chance to break through.
02
Chapter Home:
A Brand That Inspires Living and Connects Emotion
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: Returning from "graduate student" to "elementary school student" to build Chapter Home from scratch — what kind of brand do you want to create?
Angela Zhu: Facing the new generation of young consumers, when we look inward, we find their lifestyle is intimately connected with home. I hope Chapter Home can become a brand that inspires living and connects emotion, representing the new lifestyle of contemporary consumers.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: Why Chapter Home?
Angela Zhu: Chapter also means a "chapter" or "section" — life is composed of many chapters. When you come to a new city, change jobs, get a new pet, start or end a relationship... I hope Chapter Home can accompany everyone through each chapter. And the character "回" also expresses the理念 of returning to life, returning to nature, returning to one's inner self.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: "Zero to one" is crucial — what opportunities did you see in that phase? How does Chapter Home plan to meet this need?
Angela Zhu: How to create products based on user insight, and work with supply chains using sound methodology to refine产品力, is crucial. Products based on细分场景 of users represent an opportunity point. Products represent the brand; only through products can brand理念 be better conveyed. And to make good products, you must find a细分场景. In our research, we found that when people spoke of scenarios, they generally meant functional ones like living room, balcony, dining room... frankly, the differentiation in these scenarios isn't large. What Chapter Home wants to挖掘 are more细分场景 beneath the user level. For example, for people with flexible work-from-home needs, the large coffee table at home is for propping up feet — inconvenient for eating, tea, let alone working. Based on this scenario, we wondered: could there be a hands-free, multi-purpose, multi-functional side table? One where you can not only work and type, but also view your iPad — this is our product development logic captured from users.
The key to user insight is maintaining sharp sensitivity to users with heart. Sensitivity isn't just derived from big data推演; you must also observe humanistic details and挖掘 true needs — this is the most basic starting point for making a good product. Though most brands talk about empathy and co-creation, how you do it matters. Chapter Home does not only online research but also in-home surveys. Chapter Home insists on standing with users to listen, and approaching product development with an altruistic heart.
Chapter Home now has a very popular product — the Swiss Roll. The Swiss Roll is a five-position adjustable lazy sofa that you can place in different corners of your home, for sitting or lying down. The初心 in making this product was to let young people relax more with a glass of wine or cup of tea beside a small side table in common scenarios. Chapter Home advocates moving from "living in a home" to "enjoying life at home." We want to build a product matrix through细分场景 of life, meeting rich scenario needs like flexible work from home, camping at home, pets at home, socializing at home.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: Under the logic of relatively high客单价 and偏向耐用品, what experiments does Chapter Home plan in channels/new retail models?
Angela Zhu: Furniture as a category is particularly well-suited to an integrated online-offline new retail model. Given people's aspiration for beautiful lifestyles and quality, consumers wanting more quality furniture is self-evident. Offline scenarios let consumers visually see that their "home" could become like this, and experience products directly. Of course, online is also indispensable — we need to leverage technological means for presentation. What Chapter Home aims to build is a user-experience-centered, integrated online-offline new retail model. Perhaps you scan a code and place your order while having coffee. Or you've been "planted" with interest and experienced products in store — then through the online商城 or by contacting our WeCom customer service, you can reach us. Going online also means finding another way to listen to user needs, letting brand and user interact.
There's now a concept called圈层经济 — cat owners, food lovers, exhibition-goers, camping enthusiasts, and so on. Chapter Home will also provide a gathering space for everyone, a space that can become a socially-oriented city living room, an activity center connecting圈层 interests. What Chapter Home wants to build isn't a traditional furniture store, but a venue承载 these activities, forming emotional connections through exchange between people and objects, people and people, making it a Shanghai landmark where users can gather and connect through shared interests.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: How do you view the phenomenon of trend内卷?
Angela Zhu: In China,外观设计 is a pain point for原创. Chapter Home pays attention not only to the functional dimension but also to emotional value — such solutions can become a brand moat. Currently, most consumers buy self-identification. If in a particular scenario they can consistently think of me, consistently think of Chapter Home, a solution with质价比 will have more势能 than making a single爆品.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: More and more furniture/home furnishing brands rely on e-commerce channels for sales. What do you think of the quality differences between online and offline channels? How will Chapter Home address this?
Angela Zhu: In the furniture category, the first layer is functional — it works well; the middle layer requires certain social attributes, it looks good; above that is emotional value, letting me feel the happiness of coming home when lying on it — so it depends on specific consumer needs. Online channels are important for addressing immediate consultation and ordering. Offline as an important experience channel: scenarios trigger demand, and if you encounter attentive, professionally competent but not pushy staff who serve you well, that's also a plus. Adding WeCom at this point comes more naturally and sustainably than online, and this interaction is easier to do offline.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: In your vision, what kind of company do you hope Chapter Home will be in five years?
Angela Zhu: If there's a happiness index called "arrival happiness," I hope Chapter Home can deliver this value to users. For the enterprise, model, products, and organizational strength can all grow through natural升级. In ten years, I hope Chapter Home can become a brand representing China with a spirit of the times.
Angela Zhu: Entrepreneurs Are Not Alone
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: How does being an entrepreneur feel different from being a senior executive at a large corporation?
Angela Zhu: Being an entrepreneur feels completely different from being a senior executive at a large company. Entrepreneurship gives me immense satisfaction. While doing what I love, I also need a归零心态. In a startup, good strategy must be executed, operated with MVP (minimum viable product) methods, to continuously complete product iteration and self-iteration.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: When you encounter setbacks on the entrepreneurial journey, how do you adjust your mindset?
Angela Zhu: I think first you must firmly believe what you're doing is right, find a theoretical anchor point, and find a team that can strive and support you together. The beliefs of the Chapter Home team are all influenced by me. Some say entrepreneurs grow lonelier as they go, but I don't think so — the team gives me tremendous support.
She Yangjie, Source Code Capital: As a female entrepreneur, what would you like to say to women watching who might want to start their own businesses?
Angela Zhu: I'd like to say: please don't stop creating the world you believe in. Be your authentic self, be a bit more spontaneous, a bit more at ease — you'll be happier.
