Behind the Scenes: An Interview with Pavilion Broadway
Pavilion Broadway, a bricks and clicks homewares retailer in the Cotswolds, was established eleven years ago by David Ewart and his wife. It started in a very small warehouse with a very small store but they’ve rapidly grown since then, with 52% growth last year alone.
The name for their store came about after they took a trip to the Brighton Pavilion. The Brighton Pavilion was built by a former King looking for a holiday home by the sea. Inside you can find a demonstration of the different reproduction furniture you can get around the world. The furniture at Pavilion Broadway is sourced and inspired from David’s escapades abroad, so the name is very fitting.
A trip inside the 28’000-square foot furniture store is unlike most retail stores you find today. The stunning homewares products are incubated into specially designed room settings, to give the customer a full feel of what their furniture and homeware accessories will look like in real life settings. David said, “It’s really unlike most other furniture retailers where it can be very bland and everything looks the same. We put a lot of effort in with our designers to make sure we are creating looks that consumers can then recreate back home.”
Pavilion Broadway sells both offline and online, but their pride and joy is the in-store experience their customers get when they come into one of their homeware stores, “For us, one wouldn’t work without the other, but our stores are incredibly important to us, and that is really what sets us apart from the rest. A lot of people say that retail stores are dying but the majority of retail interactions still happen in-store. Once you need to make it a destination, customers come back to your store.” David explained.
While the retail industry can be challenging at times David still only sees the positives, “Even though I’ve been working in the retail industry for quite a while and I purchase the products myself, it’s still fun and exciting every time I get a delivery from a new wholesale furniture supplier, or see a new collection coming in. That always keeps my job fresh and interesting.”
David and his wife have been visiting Spring and Autumn Fair for ten years now, "Trade shows are the main place we find suppliers, we buy a lot throughout the year with the wholesale furniture suppliers that we’ve found at shows.When we are at Spring and Autumn Fair we watch out for what textures and finishes are coming through, what materials are being used, or any home decor trends that are evident in the homeware accessories or decoration sectors.”
Looking to meet retailers like Mr Miles? Exhibit at Autumn Fair and start networking with the top people in the retail industry. Alternatively, you can visit Autumn Fair and source products for your retail store.
Visit Pavilion Broadway here: www.pavilionbroadway.co.uk
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