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110 years of successful trading for leading furniture retailer

Maskreys, a leading contemporary furnishing retailer, is celebrating 110 years of trading this month.

The design-led home furnishing retailer, which has witnessed two World Wars, six changes of monarchy, the first mission to space, and the birth of the internet, is still going strong, stocking the latest lines in furniture, lighting, fabrics and giftware.

Established in Cardiff in 1898, the company now employs 120 staff working across its 25,000sq ft, flagship store on Whitchurch Road, Cardiff as well as in its two further stores in Bristol and Newport, making it one of the largest furniture retailers in Wales and the west.

Maskreys continues to evolve to meet customers’ changing demands. Developments in the last year alone include a substantial investment in launching Maskrey’s on-line, making more than 1,000 products available at a touch of a button, and a £30,000 investment in re-vamping its soft furnishing department, resulting in a 16% increase business.

Robert Maskrey, executive chairman of Maskreys, said: “While many independent retailers have fallen by the wayside in Wales, Maskreys is one of the few left who trade successfully under the family banner, and we are now serving the third and even fourth generations of our customers.

“People like the fact that their parents and grandparents have shopped at Maskreys and still come to us – even if they have moved away from the city. They have confidence in our service, stability, durability and reputation – which is of the upmost importance when substantial purchases are being made.

“The key to our success is our relentless emphasis on quality. This is manifested not only in the importance we place on training our staff to understand the needs of our customer but also in our dedication to employing all our own craftsman to ensure that we can entirely control the quality of output.”

“It is this, combined with furniture that offers real value for money, which means that we are continuing to hold our own, despite the challenging economic climate. It is often assumed that people will just go for the cheapest options when the going gets tough. However, our experience shows that people look for items that will stand the test of time, rather than those that will often have to be replaced in a couple of years, which creates a false economy.

“This is not the first time that Maskreys has traded through a troubled economic climate, and we have a lot of experience to draw on. We have the survived the depression of the 1920s and countless recessions since, and we will face the current challenges with the same attitude and resilience.”

Maskreys has been passed down through three generations of the same family. When John Maskrey died in 1925 the store was run by his wife until the outbreak of the Second World War when their son, Leonard took over running the business in 1939. Executive chairman, Robert Maskrey, who is Leonard’s son, assumed control in 1970 and continues to run the business started by his grandfather.

Maskreys stopped trading during the Second World War when the building was used by the women’s Royal Voluntary Service. After the war, the government helped to restart the furniture industry by introducing a range of utility furniture made to the same design by every manufacturer to help householders to rebuild their lives.

Following the relaxation of post war controls in the 1950s, Maskreys continued to carve out a niche for itself in sourcing and stocking innovative, contemporary home furnishings, something which is still central to the company’s ethos today.

Robert Maskrey continued: “The 1950’s were a very exciting time for Maskreys. It gave us the opportunity to re-establish ourselves as a Destination store of choice for those who wanted new, contemporary designs. It was a chance for people to express themselves again after, what had been a very regimented time.”

Maskreys not only stocks the latest designs and styles, it is also recognised for pioneering trends. It was the first company to bring blond wood from Scandinavia to the UK in the fifties, long before it was popularised by Ikea. It was also the first company to introduce Ligne Roset and Hulsta to the UK in the late sixties and early seventies.

Robert Maskrey added: “For any company to be successful for as long as we have been, and across so many different generations, it is essential to move with the times.

“Today’s interior world is as changeable and fast-paced as the fashion world and the trends alter almost as quickly. To ensure we are leading the way, it is important that we can always offer the latest, most exciting products, which are worked into understandable furnishing schemes, without compromising on our central belief of quality.

“Today we work with a wide range of designers and manufacturers from all over the world to search out new ideas and inspiration. However, Europe is still the powerhouse in terms of creating modern design teamed with quality, and this is reflected in our product range.”

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