talking trade Reflecting on 45 years of housewares
T&G Woodware managing director Patrick Gardner looks back on four and a half decades in the housewares industry
We attend three exhibitions. The Spring Fair [in Birmingham] is still the most important trade show for meeting our marketplace and finding new opportunities. Then there’s Ambiente. T&G’s export has grown well in recent years and this Frankfurt show is a no- brainer, notwithstanding, coronavirus and flight delays with winter storms. Finally: Exclusively Housewares [in London]. It’s well attended, compact and important for concluding the June-January retailer programs. So, over the years, which retailer has
my career. Having moved from sales rep to sales agent, I was casting around for products to sell on my own account. With another agent, a limited company was formed, with woodware being the core product. After four stressful years I bought the shares of the other agent and the renamed company of T&G Woodware Ltd took off. As a sales rep, I had started selling Swedish
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produced and designed stainless steel cutlery and holloware, and later Danish woodware, so design and quality were always the basis of our product range, in spite of regular pressure to cheapen the products with lower prices. The most rewarding aspect of my job has been seeing how the profile of T&G has evolved in not only product but in how T&G is presented to the trade and consumers. This change is constant.
The most challenging? To resist the demands
to cheapen the products. It is very crowded at the cheap end and I have to be proud with our offer where the best retailers can sell our products with confidence. I love products with consistent quality that function well and are produced in original and exciting designs. Many of these still exist in company listings because the consumer also likes these features.
March/April 2020
s a young salesman of 23 years, I was involved with household products and giftware from the beginning of
impressed me most? John Lewis. In spite of the modern retail pressures, [this department store group] still manages to keep its integrity. Also, there are many independent retailers who have managed to adapt to the ever-changing retail conditions by keeping the customers coming to their shops. I would say the biggest challenge facing
retailers is the internet. There is not a level playing field for even the most active and inventive of retailers, with or without a website. Add to that commercial rents, rate and parking,
Pride of Place is T&G’s most popular range
and it’s a lot to manage! The retailers’ problems are the suppliers’
problem. Add the continual despec’ing and downgrading of product by some major retailers in all industries to keep margin and price point, which is dishonest for the consumer. T&G’s limited experience is that’s not what the consumer wants from their purchasing. But with cynicism and resignation it’s what the consumer gets and often expects. The biggest change I’ve seen since I joined the housewares Industry is the contraction of British companies; even some well-known brands are foreign owned. The one change I would like to see is retailers’
costs reduced ie rent, rates and a more sympathetic approach to parking that would help our many high streets. Retailers would then be able to invest in their businesses, for everyone’s benefit. So, after 45 years in the housewares industry, what advice would I give to someone starting out? Ensure that the priorities of the company you choose to work for include serious design input and that their products are of excellent quality, so you can be proud of your activities.
New for 2020 is the Deco range •
HousewaresLive.net •
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T&G celebrates 45 years in 2020
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