Working continuously to improve and enhance its offer, Gallery Direct has seen many developments this year which will ensure that it can provide an all-round solution for its customers. Victoria Noakes paid MD Peter Delaney a visit to uncover more about the business’ most recent activity ...
Originally established as a small family-run business supplying mirrors and frames in 1973, Gallery Direct’s growth over the years to become a leading designer, manufacturer and global distributor of furniture, home decor and accessories, has been impressive.
Having acquired the furniture brand Frank Hudson in 2014, then bed and mattress specialist Dreamworks Beds last year, Gallery has expanded its offering exponentially to provide an all-round home furnishings solution, incorporating living, dining, bedroom and occasional furniture, beds and mattresses, soft furnishings, lighting, mirrors and accessories.
This year, Gallery’s focus has been on ensuring that all aspects of the business are able to meet the same high quality and comprehensive nature of its product portfolio. One way the business aims to do this is by extending its dedicated furniture warehouse storage space by 40,000ft².
“The warehouse will be 14m high and will give us about another 11,000 pallet spaces of product storage. We’re also having a mezzanine floor put in. It will take us to around 120,000ft² of storage capability. Really this is about the company investing in the future – being able to carry stock for in-time deliveries and to expand our ranges,” says Peter.
“We have external warehousing at the moment which isn’t great – we need to have better control and efficiency all under one roof. The extension will make us the largest trading company on the Eurolink Commercial Park, which is the largest one in the South-east. We hope to be operational here in the autumn.”
Gallery has its own UK manufacturing base in Dreamworks in Westbury, allowing the business to offer more choice and a high level of craftsmanship. The sharing of resources between Gallery’s Dreamworks and Frank Hudson brands has ensured a close and ever-growing working relationship between the two, Peter explains.
“We’ve invested in the Westbury base by purchasing the buildings, putting in new mezzanine floors in the factory units down there and expanding the development team. The businesses are becoming really joined up which is nice because it normally takes a while for that to happen,” he says.
On top of this, Gallery has now rolled out its own transport fleet to add a further aspect of professionalism to its offering. Its delivery team has undertaken new training to become fully versed in the company’s product portfolio and has fresh, updated toolkits which will act as an additional customer care arm for the company.
“We want to have a world-class transport solution. We’ve been a bit frustrated with some of the delivery companies we’ve been using, and I think our brand and customer service has been affected because of this. So, again, we wanted to take control of that ourselves, and make sure that the high standards we have everywhere else in the business follow through right to the doorstep,” Peter states.
“We’re always looking at the continual improvement process, and some issues like space and transport are larger than others. Finding a solution to these issues helps us to future-proof the business and gives us room to grow.”
Gallery has also refreshed its website recently which makes products easier to view, has simpler navigation and the ability to shop by look and style. The whole of the company’s range with accompanying prices is able to view by creating an account or signing in, where users are then able to place orders effortlessly.
Visual merchandising is something that Gallery is becoming increasingly involved in this year, with the business putting together themed looks and concept areas within home retail stores Aldiss – located in Norwich – and Great Yarmouth-based Palmers.
“A number of progressive clients who saw us at the January Furniture Show said they really liked what we did with our display and asked us to help them get across the complete Gallery story. So far we’ve offered a fair amount of help to both Aldiss and Palmers and we’re really chuffed with the results,” says Peter.
“We’ve got some huge talent here within our studio and they’re excellent at visual merchandising. Because they begin their process with the original design and concept and know exactly what they want to get across in terms of the product, I think it’s natural for them to offer suggestions on how it could look. I can really see this side of the business growing.”
Another recent development for Gallery has been the expansion of its QC teams in all regions, including its in-house team. The company has also invested heavily in EUTR compliance and is engaging with specialist consultants in order to ensure it can offer a full service, back-up, reassurance and confidence to its customers.
As well as the significant growth happening in all other aspects of the business, Gallery’s team of six experienced area sales managers – which complement its national sales team and London and South-east-based van sale service – continue to work with independent retailers to make sure they are displaying the right ranges.
Passionate about helping customers understand Gallery’s message, the sales team takes the time to aid them in creating displays and proactively suggesting items specifically for their store.
With product development teams in France, Italy, Eastern Europe and the Far East, Gallery is currently working on new and innovative products for this autumn season and next spring and summer. With accessories and textiles becoming an increasingly profitable area for the business, Gallery’s product portfolio continues to evolve and expand, creating a progressively compelling offer.
“The vertical integration through Gallery’s design, procurement, sales and logistic processes are pretty seamless – all the teams work as one. They’re all listening to what the marketplace wants and feeding that right back to the top,” Peter states.
“If we’re not doing something today that fits our world-class offer, we’ll be constantly working to make sure these areas are fixed. It’s all about continuous improvement, and maintenance and discipline are what it takes to achieve this.”
