Progressive Gifts & Home’s very first issue, launched by Max Publishing, made its debut at Harrogate Home & Gift in July 1993, with the magazine delighted to officially celebrate its 30th anniversary at the show this week.
GiftsandHome.net asked leading retailers and suppliers to tell us how they feel the market’s evolved over the decades, plus what they predict for the future. In the first in a series of articles, Oliver Tress, founder and managing director of Oliver Bonas – which will be celebrating the company’s own 30th anniversary in September – shares his thoughts.
“Thirty years ago, I started out selling imported watches and fashion accessories brought back from trips to Hong Kong, with the first Oliver Bonas store opening its doors in West London’s Fulham in 1993. Best sellers included handbags, with sun and moon designs all the rage across fashion accessories.”
Continues Oliver: “Today, we are an omnichannel retailer selling fashion to furniture, alongside gift-led homewares, jewellery, scarves, bags, home fragrancing products, gift books, stationery, lighting, soft furnishings and greeting cards. Everything is very aspirational, reflecting the original concept of selling ‘interesting gifts for interesting people’, with an expanding in house design studio creating exclusive own brand product.”
Looking forward, Oliver adds: “we will continue to focus on ways we can be a more responsible employer, playing our part in the push for a more ethical way of doing business. We are also planning steady growth – online as well as physical stores.”
Currently, there are 83 Oliver Bonas stores across the UK and Ireland.
For the full version of this article, click through to pages 19-25.
Earlier this week (17 July), highlighting the company’s 30th anniversary, The Times devoted an article to an interview with Oliver Tress in the newspaper’s Business section.
Top: Oliver Tress, founder and managing director of Oliver Bonas, is shown outside the recently opened Chichester store.
