EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW
“It’s not just about someone’s potential to invest; it’s about the person, too”
As Gautier opens its doors to the UK, managing director Harvey Roberts talks to Flora Neighbour about the growing furniture company and its expansion plans
O
n an extremely hot summer’s day, I made my way to Gautier’s newly opened store in Chelsea, London. Just off the Kings
Road, I was greeted by a wide, warm smile from the managing director, Harvey Roberts, as I popped in to meet him. Despite it only being the second time we’ve met, I feel like we’re old friends as he gets up immediately to offer me a cold and refreshing drink to cool down from the humidity.
Once we’ve caught up on all things British (the usual chat: weather; family; commuting to the capital), we move our conversation onto France, particularly the French Soulard family and their inevitable rise to success with the beautiful high-end furniture brand. It’s not long until I realise I should be taking notes as Harvey reveals, in detail, how Monsieur Patrice Gautier founded the company, and how the next generation developed the luxury furniture manufacturer into the franchise retail store we see today, full of its famous family-friendly atmosphere…
Let’s start from the beginning. Can you give me a bit of background on Gautier? Patrice Gautier founded what was originally a children’s furniture company in 1960; focusing on design and creativity. Today, the business is privately owned by Patrice Gautier’s wife’s brother. The furniture is still made in France and we have five in-house designers. However, as you may know, Gautier doesn’t just make children’s furniture anymore; the business creates furniture for the whole home.
Why did the business decide to move away from just children’s furniture and grow its catalogue? We were very successful with the children’s furniture, and still are, but it was a natural progression from that to adult’s bedroom furniture. The most recent addition is the living and dining range. The changes haven’t happened overnight and weren’t taken lightly. We now have everything for the home except kitchens and bathrooms, and all of the collections encompass the French design.
Franchisor News | 35
So why did the company decide to franchise? It was a very recent decision (Gautier decided to franchise the business in 2005). Originally, we were very successful selling through third parties, and have a third party network of retailers globally. Having just children’s furniture in places like Harrods meant we didn’t need to franchise, but that is different now as we’ve expanded our range.
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