Bigger & Better
1957 -1985 The Perfect Spot
Prime shopping area
When opportunity knocks, the door needs to be opened, even if it’s
not convenient at the time. Just as the first bricks were being laid
at the new Tollgate warehouse in 1955, along came the chance of a prime
site in Bury town centre.
Well known local firm, Barclay Motors decided to move elsewhere in the town, vacating its new car showroom in part of the Corn Exchange in the heart of the town. It had long windows facing the Traverse and the lease came on the market for £1,000. It was the perfect spot for a furnishing store.
At a stroke, Glasswells acquired an 80 foot window frontage in a prime shopping area. At the time the showroom opened in 1957, it was one of the biggest window display spaces in East Anglia. To make the most of the position, a leading West End designer was engaged to create a series of superb display rooms - right next door to the hall that had been the venue of some of Glasswells biggest exhibitions.
They now had three shops in Bury, each serving different markets. The Corn Exchange took the highest quality stock and was managed by Claude Long. The St. Andrews shop, managed by Don Boughton, dealt with the medium range, and the lower end of the market was concentrated in Brentgovel Street, managed by John Adams.
The Corn Exchange Bury Town Centre
Major alterations
By 1964, more display space was urgently needed at the Corn Exchange Shop - a problem that could be overcome by installing a mezzanine floor. The town council would only allow the work if nothing was attached to the main columns of the building. This also meant major alterations. However, Glasswells had already rented temporary premises in Cornhill whilst reconstruction was carried out at Brentgovel Street, so retaining this site for as long as possible, they were able to transfer business there whilst alterations were completed at the Corn Exchange. In this way, both shops were able to continue trading while major work was in progress. It meant that by the early 1960’s Glasswells had more floor space than ever before.
1992 -1996 Glasswells World of Furniture
Bigger and better
Although by the early 1990’s, Glasswells had a total of 16,000 sq.ft. between St. Andrews Street and Brentgovel Street branches, they realised this was no longer enough. The public were demanding bigger and better furniture displays, and more parking was needed. Added to this, a changing market place saw more names appearing on the scene and Glasswells market share began to fall. “New retailers were coming in to better locations with more appealing offers than our own” recalls Paul Glasswell.
In 1990 the management team took a long hard look at the situation, and they came to one conclusion. Time for a change. “Although suitable retail space became available in Bury from time to time, it was not at a price we were prepared to pay” remembers Paul. “The really big boys were continuing to set the benchmark for property prices.”
Substantial residential development in the borough convinced Leslie and Paul they need to move to an edge of town location. They had the advantage of owning most of their own property, so the idea of becoming a tenant did not appeal. Then suddenly the market peaked and the slowdown in property sales had a knock-on effect on businesses.
In early 1992 they realised their town centre store locations where not the best positions to compete with the out of town stores, they needed to be able to compete on the same level. The property market suddenly peaked and enthusiasm for large sites began to wane, leading to a general slide in confidence. This slow down in property sales had a knock on effect to businesses, including, of course, the furniture trade. However, an opportunity arose when Glasswell's had the opportunity to acquire the 4.5 acre site and 34,000 sq. ft. former Fiat building off the Newmarket Road. This out of time location was perfect, situated on one of the main routes into Bury and very close to the main A14 route throughout East Anglia. It also have plenty of car parking space and the size also provided passes of potential for further expansion. The purchase was completed by July. Development needed a lot of thought as they planned to open within just ten weeks. Architect Ray Durrant was engaged and contracts were placed with W.J.Baker, who completed on time. The store was further extended in 1995.
Newmarket Rd. Bury St. Edmunds
No stone unturned
Leslie recollects: “we succeeded in creating a large store where customers can see displays of furnishings as they might look at home. We also added complementary departments and an in-store restaurant”. Called The Place to Eat, and it became an integral part of the store’s success. From a bespoke entrance carpet to specially textured ceilings, no stone was left unturned in creating a store to provide customers with the ultimate shopping experience. The opening of the World of Furniture in 1992 was a big affair, with functions attended by over 600 people.
1995 - A Second World of Furniture
New location offered considerable potential
Having launched the highly successful World of Furniture in Bury in 1992, Paul Glasswell was soon thinking about a second out-of-town site. His quest led him to Beardmore Park in Martlesham Heath, Ipswich, where a suitable property had come on to the market. Brights Furnishers who had been struggling for a number of years went out of business in Autumn 1995. Having already looked at the premises, Glasswells were convinced the site offered considerable potential, particularly with the recent construction of a Tesco store nearby. It had the added advantage of being fully fitted.
Opening at Ipswich presented an opportunity to gain new customers in the east of the county, and the store was sufficiently far away from Bury not to interfere with its existing catchment area. Able to achieve extra turnover from a big new branch by incorporating it into the business generally and with little increase in administration costs, Glasswells directors were confident that a branch at Ipswich could be profitable both in the short and long terms. Their decision to go ahead was unanimous.
Paul Glasswell recalls, “It took only six weeks of shop fitting and decorating to convert the branch into a World of Furniture and we were able to begin trading from the new 20,000 sq.ft. on Boxing Day 1995”.
Ipswich Beardmore Park
A wise choice
The initial results at the new store proved their judgement right, with turnover better than expected. Today, over 10 years later the store continues its success.
Ipswich has seen tremendous residential and commercial growth during the period, attracting a new younger generation which is particularly well catered for by the store concentrating on their wide range of upholstery, dining furniture, beds and bedrooms ranges.
The Beardmore Park location also proved to be a wise choice, located just off the busy A12 trunk route, which now forms part of the major road network around Ipswich.
2002- Glasswells Biggest Ever Venture
100,000 sq.ft. of floorspace
It was not long after the extension was opened in 1995 that plans were being made for Glasswells’ biggest ever venture - a massive extension to the Newmarket Road superstore, that would take the overall floor space to over 100,000 sq.ft. This would make it the largest and most modern home furnishing centre in the East of England.
The new extension, part of a long term plan of improvements, was designed to welcome customers through a magnificent new entrance into a stunning atrium display area, leading to lower level floors for new gifts, cookshop, linens and lighting departments. This was to be set against a backdrop with a split level staircase, leading to a mezzanine floor and balcony area dedicated to beds and bedroom furnishings. Luxury toilet and washroom facilities were built on the mezzanine floor and full disabled facilities were incorporated, including ramps and a lift. The extension was also to incorporate a new carpet warehouse plus additional storage space for the extensive new departments.
Building work started in April 2002 and was completed ready for the launch evening in October of the same year, when invited guests and staff were treated to a spectacular music, dance and light show, following the ceremonial breaking through into the new part of the store.
Outside, the car park was extended to cater for the expected increase in customer traffic, and could now comfortably handle over 200 vehicles. Exterior landscaping added the finishing touch to this innovative new building.
World of Furniture Store Extension
Up to standard
The next phase of the improvement work was to refurbish the older part of the store to bring it up to the standard of the new extension. Plans included a new suspended ceiling incorporating new lighting, for the whole area, new carpeting throughout, a new reception area and children’s Playzones.
Room settings were built to display the extensive new ranges introduced. Work was carried out gradually around the store, section by section, thus avoiding having to close off any large areas to the public.
The Place to Eat restaurant, having always been one of Bury's most popular lunchtime eating spots, was relocated and rebuilt to double its former size. State of the art kitchens were added and staff increased to cater for the 90 seat capacity.
Further store improvements have included
new floor covering and curtain departments, plus an all new Design
Centre.