We are excited by this announcement – we are reopening on Tuesday 6th of April!
Yes, the long wait is over, and we can finally welcome you back to the showroom. As regular showroom hours resume, we expect to be busy; so, if you have a project you would like to discuss, we recommend you email us at info@johndickandson.co.uk to arrange an appointment with our design team. There is no need to arrange an appointment if you want to look around the showroom; we have made all the necessary arrangements and adjustment to allow you to browse in comfort and safety.
Like all independent retailers, we have had a tumultuous year; not only have we had to deal with the showroom closure, but we have also been restricted from doing home consultations and home deliveries. However, it’s incredible how, as long-established businesses that traditionally rely on footfall, we adapted to new working ways.
At John Dick & Son, we have been more fortunate than many. We are a 3rd generation family business, and we have long-encouraged our clientele to visit the showroom to browse our extensive selection of premium-quality furniture. Visits to the showroom frequently involve consultations with our internal design team in the design studio and sample rooms. So, enforced closure has had an impact on a business. We have missed customers coming in and grabbing a coffee before they browse around the various rooms and the vast array of furniture styles. Hence the excitement of welcoming you back.
Regardless, we have remained busy. People have been ordering furniture. We were pleasantly surprised at the level of support shown to the company in recent months. Our customers continued to place orders, even though the showroom has been closed for much of the past year.
We attribute this to the fact that we are a long-established business with firm roots in the community. That and our reputation for selling quality furniture has encouraged customers to continue to order without the showroom experience. They know that if we stock it, the quality is the highest possible standard.
We have a reputation for excellent quality and first-class customer service. We don’t just deal with reputable manufacturers; we form personal relationships with these businesses’ owners. Unsurprisingly, many are also family-owned and have similar core values to ours.
Under normal circumstances, we go on buying trips to major furniture exhibitions in the UK and Europe. We also visit manufacturers premises to cement relationships and see the design and production facilities first-hand. This attention to detail and our relationships have enabled us to fulfil orders over the past year.
Of course, Brexit has been an added complication in the last year. We work with many artisan furniture businesses in countries like Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, and the UK. High levels of rust and the strength of the relationships with the supply chain have eased the Brexit challenges. There’s a great deal more paperwork to complete since we exited the European Union, but we’ve got to grips with it, and we’re happy that we have the processes in place to continue to deal with our established suppliers. All of our suppliers have shown a genuine passion for helping us address the whole issue to continue to offer our customers the same high-quality products.
In the UK, suppliers like Tamarisk, a small specialist owner-managed furniture company based in the Cotswolds, are an excellent example of the type of companies they deal with at John Dick & Son.
Similar independent and long-established, family-run businesses like Cattelan Italia, Bontempi and Porada from Italy, Fama from Spain, EvanyRouse and Aleal from Portugal and many more make up an impressive portfolio of suppliers. These brands share a common goal: offering innovative furniture designed and manufactured with passion by artisans that care about their creations.
The criteria that we have set in selecting our suppliers are now paying dividends. We are confident that the ranges they offer are produced to a high standard; this is transferring through to our clients who trust in the quality and service enough to make a purchase out with the showroom.