Gillies celebrates a significant milestone this year, marking 130 years in business. Throughout its history, the furniture retailer has grown, becoming more environmentally conscious and embedded in the life of the local community.
-
Some Courier online content is funded by outside parties. The revenue from this helps to sustain our independent news gathering. You will always know if you are reading paid-for material as it will be clearly labelled as “Partnership” on the site and on social media channels,
This can take two different forms.
“Presented by”
This means the content has been paid for and produced by the named advertiser.
“In partnership with”
This means the content has been paid for and approved by the named advertiser but written and edited by our own commercial content team.
No one could deny the sense of pride in Ian Philp as he fondly shared the history of this family firm.
The company has come a long way since Ian’s great-grandfather, James Gillies, a cabinet maker and upholsterer, founded it with a local businessman back in 1895.
James and his partner set up shop underneath the Queens Hotel in the Nethergate.
They eventually attracted a well-heeled clientele, including some of the city’s industrialists.
Makers of cabinets and coffins
More than a decade later, James set up his own business in his hometown of Broughty Ferry, focusing on upholstery and cabinet making.
He continued his previous firm’s offerings. But he also sold and fitted linoleum, house removals, and then went into the business of storage and auctioneering.
Not many people know this, but Gillies also polished suits of armour. It even entered the undertaking business at a time when cabinet makers traditionally made coffins.
Ian revealed: “One of the terms of me joining the business was that we stopped undertaking. So in the 1970s, we stopped it.”
Starting young
Ian’s initiation into the family business really started as a boy.
He shared: “We used to come up to Broughty Ferry for summer holidays and I’d always go and help Grandpa in the shop.
“From a very young age, I can remember being in the office, sitting on a staff member’s knee while helping to open the mail, licking stamps and sticking them on envelopes.”
Growing and expanding
Ian, who now serves as managing director, is proudest of expanding their retail space.
“We realised the shop wasn’t big enough, so we built our first major extension, which was 9,000 square feet. That changed the company significantly. It went from being a small family business to a bigger cog in the wheel of house furnishings.
“My grandfather always said, ‘Never be behoven to the banks’. So we’ve built up this site and we’ve tried to self-fund all the extensions we’ve done.
“Then we looked further afield, bought a company in Perth and renamed it Gillies. We also opened stores in Aberdeen, Inverness and Elgin.”
Starting with only 20 staff, Gillies has since grown into a business with 200 employees. It is now considered one of Tayside’s most well-known and respected companies. It is also one of Scotland’s largest furniture retailers.
Aside from his grandfather, Ian credits his late uncle, James Gillies Lornie for moulding the family business, especially its focus on providing excellent service.
Ian shared: “My uncle was the managing director. He was holding the company together for many years between my grandfather’s retirement and myself and my brother joining the business. He was a very hardworking man who had the interests of the company at heart. He was a really good salesman and he had a great sense of humour. A real character.”
Part of the community
To thank customers for their support, Gillies gives back to its communities by being actively involved in local causes.
Ian’s son, Ewan said: “We help with issues like arguing against the closing of the Broughty Ferry Castle and charging for street parking.
“Centres are dying all around the country because of lack of footfall. This would be another barrier so we’ve been part of the objection to that.”
As an active member of the Broughty Ferry Traders Association, Gillies also supports events like the summer Gala week and the Christmas Light Switch-On event.
The flagship store’s Christmas display is another highlight in the company’s calendar.
Ewan said: “We put on a display that kids and adults all engage with and enjoy. At the same time, we raise money for our nominated charity.”
Ian admits he has a soft spot in his heart for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) after serving as a crew member on the Broughty Ferry Lifeboat for decades. His nephew, David, who’s also a director at Gillies, is a current crew member.
So Gillies helps raise funds for the RNLI every year to make sure its boats and crew members have the best equipment and training to help save lives.
The company has also raised £75,000 for The Archie Foundation to buy toys, specialist healthcare equipment and other needs to aid sick children in Tayside, Grampian and the Highlands.
Going green
Conscious of its impact on the environment, Gillies collects all its furniture packaging after deliveries. Then it takes them to a facility where they are segregated and compacted into bails before being recycled.
Ewan added: “We are one of the few companies in Scotland to recycle all our carpet offcuts, directing all that away from landfill.”
Wooden pallets and crates from suppliers are also used to fuel eco-stoves that heat the company’s furniture warehouse during winter.
Gillies stores now also use bio-based carrier bags made from 70% sugar cane-based polythene – an organic-based polymer that’s 100% recyclable.
Aside from that, the company has installed solar panels on the roofs of its store and its warehouse space in Dundee, cutting an average of 50 tonnes of carbon emissions yearly.
In addition, it uses low voltage lighting in its showrooms and warehouses, reducing daily energy consumption by about 75%.
All in the family
Ian, who will soon retire, is training Ewan to take over the reins of the flooring side of the business. Ewan served as marketing director for eight years.
Meanwhile, as sales director, Ian’s younger brother, Alistair, is responsible for the furniture side of the business. Alistair’s son, David, is understudying his father while his other son, Chris manages distribution and the warehouse.
Ewan said: “I speak for my cousins when I say we’ve always looked up to our fathers. We’ve always had immense pride for what my dad and his brother have done.
“Growing up, Dad’s work was part of life. I knew from a young age I wanted to join the business.”
Ewan’s pride extends to their staff whom they consider as family.
He said: “We make sure we get the right people with the right goals in mind and fit in well with the team. Now we have 200 staff who take the business to heart. They try hard to give great service and are extremely loyal.
“I want to thank them because they do work hard and it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Secret to success
As Gillies marks 130 years in business, Ian shares what’s at the heart of the company’s success and longevity: providing high quality products and excellent service to customers.
He said: “Our core value is giving customers good service so they’ll come back time and time again. We try and look after our customers to the best of our ability.”
Beyond the business, Gillies has proven it’s a pillar of the community that consistently gives back. And with deep pride and respect for its rich history and legacy, the home furnishing retailer continues to be a responsible and innovative enterprise as it looks forward to the next 130 years.
Visit Gillies’ website to shop high quality pieces from its winter sale.
Read more: Six generations toast Gillies’ 125 years of success
Conversation