Dynasty Furniture Manufacturing - Calgary

CELEBRATING SINCE 1979

The Dynasty story began in 1975. That’s when Jim Sunderji, Founder of Dynasty Furniture, and his three brothers – all of whom had moved to Canada from East Africa – invested in a bedding manufacturing franchise in Calgary.

The Sunderji siblings grew up in the furniture business, and they abided at all times by their father’s teachings. He said, “No matter what you do – and no matter where you are in the world – good business ethics matter more than anything else. In your relations with your employees, your customers and your suppliers, honesty and integrity are paramount. To win customers, you must make bold promises. To retain customers, you must keep your promises.”

In the early years, the Sunderji brothers divided all the management and supervisory work among themselves, with hands-on support from their spouses.

Working hard and remaining steadfast to their business principles, the Sunderji brothers guided the fledgling company to profitability in just three years. Eventually, though, divergent interests in the furniture business led each of them to begin ventures of their own.

Jim’s vision led to the start of Dynasty Furniture. In modest surroundings in southeast Calgary’s Foothills Industrial Park, Dynasty Furniture entered western Canada’s upholstered furniture market in 1979. Within its 10,000 square feet, 30 employees led by Jim and his wife Rosy produced mid-budget sofas, loveseat and chairs – a market in which Jim recognized a tremendous need.

“By then I had learned the North American business climate and realized what I needed to do to succeed. I had studied the furniture marketplace and saw a need for a producer of high-quality, competitively priced upholstered furniture. So that’s the direction we pursued,” says Jim.

According to Jim, creating affordable product lines that combine leading-edge style with uncompromising quality has been one of the keys to Dynasty’s long-term success.

“From the beginning, our vision was to make our products very fashion oriented. By keeping up with ever-changing fashions and maintaining high standards of quality – and then offering these appealing products at affordable prices – we believed we could open up new markets for our furniture.”

Just a few years after its start-up, Dynasty was progressing rapidly along the road to expansion. With its roots in western Canada, the company branched eastward in 1984, opening a manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ontario, to better serve its customers there. From a 10,000 square foot facility with some 20 employees in the Toronto suburb, the plant would grow to 200,000 square feet in 1997, while the staff would grow to 150-plus.

In 1985 – one year after Dynasty’s successful launch into the central/eastern Canadian market – the company moved its Calgary plant into a new 150,000-square-foot facility not far from its original location.

A combination of knowledge and expertise has enabled Dynasty, for over 26 years, to meet its customers’ demands for competitively priced, high-quality furniture. This is how the company has grown since 1979 to become one of the largest manufacturers of upholstered furniture in the country. “When you look back at our history, a lot of factors have contributed to our success. But the most important factor in my mind,” says Jim, “is our people.”

“We’ve worked hard to make Dynasty a family business – and I don’t mean just our immediate family. We consider everyone who works here – from management to the people in the plant – to be part of the Dynasty family. We wouldn’t be where we are today without everyone’s hard work and dedication, and I’m thankful for the fact that I’ve been able to share this success with so many others.”