Grampian Furnishers is a furniture store based in the Moray Firth coastal village of Lossiemouth in the north of Scotland, and this year celebrates its 40th year of trading. Furniture News questioned MD Royce Clark to find out more about the independent family business ...
How long you have held your role at Grampian Furnishers?
I’ve been here full time for 18 years since I was 19, but I worked part time in the business prior to that and going through my business course at college/uni.
Tell us about the history of the company
It was founded in 1975 in Elgin by my father, uncle and a friend. My dad went solo in 1981 in Lossiemouth and then moved into our current home – which is an old cinema – in 1986. My dad retired 16 years ago and I’ve been running it myself ever since. My wife and brother-in-law work full time and my sister part time, and my mother and brother also worked in the business up until around the same time as my dad retired.
What is Grampian Furnishers’ philosophy?
Our motto, ‘see it, buy it, get it’, was taken from the fact that my dad would sell anything he had in stock to keep the customer happy. This has been built on over the 40 years in business.
What type of product do you offer?
We sell general house furnishings, sofas, cabinet furniture, beds, flooring, rugs, blinds and accessories.
What makes you stand out from your competitors?
We offer personal service, quick delivery and are involved in the local community.
Which products are currently popular with customers?
Our biggest selling category is sofas. Recently our biggest selling product has been our massage chair, which we sell in huge numbers online and also sell in store.
What’s going on within the company right now?
Our shop is getting a bit of a facelift and we have been making lots of small changes to the business, such as new signage, new lettering on our vans, and creating a new reception area. In recent months we have employed two new staff and are actively in discussions about either opening a second store or moving altogether to Elgin.
Our online business is continuing to grow and has enjoyed a boost this past few months as we have invested in the back office and removed different delivery charges which have made a big impact – our delivery charge for anything is now £20 anywhere on the UK mainland.
How do you address the needs of a changing market?
Our stock tends to change regularly as we will sell items off the floor if the customer can’t wait – this keeps the store fresh and means we have new things coming in all the time.
What trends are you currently experiencing?
In flooring, carpets have been more about colour and design, and stripes and checks have increased. With sofas we have seen a dramatic decline in leather and a big increase in modern fabrics.
What are your future plans?
Continued growth and the opening of a new store with a bigger and better offering and shopping experience. We have a great team here at Grampian Furnishers and the continued growth and success wouldn’t have been possible without them. Our growth in 2013 was around 6% but in the first six months of 2014 it increased to 14% which I feel is remarkable given the current climate.
