9:00am Monday 22nd March 2010
By Tim Saunders
A house furnisher in Ferndown has played its part in preserving the British furniture industry.
Sixty per cent of the suites, tables, chairs and beds available at David Phipp in Ringwood Road are handmade in Britain by manufacturers like 112-year-old Wiltshire-based G Plan, 141-year-old Derbyshire firm Parker Knoll and Ercol, which has been trading for 90 years in Buckinghamshire.
“We always try to buy British made products,” said owner David Phipp, adding that the business doesn’t buy bulk containers of furniture, which would normally come from the Far East, China or Eastern Europe.
This commitment to buying British was praised by Adam Mason of the British Furniture Manufacturers Association, who said: “It makes sense that if more people are selling British furniture there will be more made and the industry will be stronger as a result.”
He added that there are 7,000 British furniture manufacturers, 85 per cent of which employ less than 10 staff.
David Phipp went into the furniture industry when he realised he wouldn’t become a professional footballer, despite playing in the Cherries youth team.
He started his career by working for JJ Allens, the furniture shop in Bournemouth, where Norman Davis was manager. Mr Phipp then left to set up in business with his wife Anne, buying and selling second-hand furniture and re-buttoning beds. He took out a £1,500 loan to open his first shop at Parley Cross.
His first advertisement was placed in the Daily Echo in 1970.
Later, Mr Phipp’s old manager Mr Davis joined him, becoming a director along with Gary Mills.
For the past 20 years the David Phipp shop has occupied the former Welcome Lodge Hotel at Ringwood Road, which Falla Builders in Christchurch has converted into a 28,500sq ft showroom.
Trading for 40 years David Phipp has a database of 35,000 loyal customers typically aged over 45 as far afield as London. Its contemporary furniture offering is helping attract a younger audience.
The company, which employs 53 staff, generates a turnover exceeding £6m.
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