Matthew Gingell, Sales Director at Material Things, reflects on its 50th anniversary milestone.
Back in 1975, Portsmouth-based Material Things was officially launched. Founded by Malcolm Gingell, the business has evolved, innovated and grown over the last five decades, all while keeping it in the family too. Some 50 years later, Malcolm’s daughter Victoria & son Matthew are spearheading its next phase of growth, which we will come onto later in this article.
For the moment, Matthew shared its founding story, feeling extremely “proud” of how far the business has come. “Reaching our 50th anniversary is genuinely a proud moment for us. For me, not just as Sales Director, but as Malcolm’s son, it’s a real privilege to carry forward what my father started all those years ago. So many businesses, similar to us, in the area have closed in the years we’ve enjoyed, and some of that is down to not having family members interested in continuing the business, so for Victoria and I it’s a pleasure to see it thrive.
“When Dad started Material Things in 1975, it was in my paternal grandfather’s garage. He just had an upholstery bench and did some work for friends and family at first after leaving the larger upholstery trade to begin this venture. His ideals back then (and now) were very clear, the belief of quality above all else. Over the years, we’ve grown enormously—expanding into premium sofa brands, handmade curtains, blinds, shutters, awnings, and of course developing the largest re-upholstery workshop in the area. But that commitment to quality has never changed.
“It’s not just about the products we sell (although I do believe we offer only the best available). It’s about the experience, the attention to detail, and the expertise our customers know they can trust. None of that would be possible without our incredible staff—some of whom have been with us for decades. Their skill, loyalty and genuine care for customers are the real reason we’ve reached 50 years.”
Over this time, the business has achieved many milestones – too many in fact to capture in one article alone, but Matthew revealed some key highlights along the way. “It all starts with Malcolm! My Dad completed his “furniture production and management diploma” in High Wycombe, achieving a 2.2. Despite being trained in wooden furniture and cabinetry, he worked for the multinational upholstery group Christie Tyler as a graduate and manager trainee in the Western Upholstery division, eventually leaving to become a manager at a Portsmouth based upholstery firm, S.E.B upholstery.
“One day he had a falling out with one of the owners and, being a man set in his vision, Malcolm wouldn’t back down from his point of view. The owner at that point said: “If you think you have all the answers, why don’t you go out and start up your own upholstery business?” He didn’t realise that this would be the kindling to doing just that. Starting small, he’d quote, re-upholster and collect and deliver anything his friends and family would like revitalising. Word spread, and it got to the point where he needed to quote and run the company full time, and so rented a small unit in North End, Portsmouth, with enough room for a bench and not much else.
“At this point, he began with his business partner and friend Jenny, an incredible seamstress who sadly passed away during the early years of Material Things but whose talent and dedication helped lay the foundation for everything we’ve become. As he was so busy quoting, he took on a friend and upholstery expert from SEB, Dave Shiers, who has been with Material Things almost the entirety of the 50 years. He outgrew the small shop, moving across the road to a larger store, and then eventually buying the building next door and knocking through.
“Over the years he opened five other small shops locally until he realised the need for one large superstore, where all the showrooms would be, as well as the workshops. It’s where we still are today on Fitzherbert Road! Over the next 25 years we went through a complete revolution, not just offering re-upholstery, but building our own sofa, taking on some massive names in furniture to sit along side our own, opening our own curtain workshops and offering carpets and blinds.
“Even in the last five years we’ve changed immensely. We’ve changed our image, focussed on going more upmarket with our offering, invested in a fully digital CMS computer system, launched a massive new website, replaced our roof, added air conditioning and opened a Stressless Studio & an ercol studio, as well as trebling the size of our shutters, blinds & awnings department.”
For Material Things, constant evolution, adapting to market needs and investing in its growth have been pivotal to its ongoing success. The business is far from done too. Having recently completed its new ercol studio, attention turns to its own brand Bowes & Hill, as Matthew teased. “We’ve got a massive surprise towards the end of the year for our own handmade sofa brand, Bowes & Hill, made in our own workshops.
“We’ve delved in to every single model and revitalised every part of them, from the fabric offering (over 10,000 and counting), to the specification, the sizing, the comfort, everything. It will be so different when it’s finished and we’re, again, tearing up our showroom to reflect the huge changes to such an important part of our business. It may not sound much, but when you try it, you’ll see why we’re excited!”
Keeping the excitement levels high, Matthew and the team have launched an anniversary sale event to celebrate the occasion and remain bullish despite a challenging market. “Footfall is the biggest challenge. Once people visit us, we find most people buy. But a lot of people are buying online, which I can’t imagine doing with a sofa when you can’t sit on it.
“The economy hasn’t been good across every business type/sector, I don’t think that’s a secret. However, we’ve been so lucky that we’ve made a brilliant start to the year, and are ahead of the last three years in first half yearly turnover figures, when most companies are returning to pre-covid figures. The big change for us this year has been average order value. Whilst footfall may been down in the last few months, each customer is spending more with us, and cross selling to our other products has been key.
“We’ve also just launched our largest ever sale to mark the anniversary, which our fantastic suppliers have kindly supported us in. That’s helping customers get incredible value on some of the best brands around, which feels like a fitting way to say thank you.”
Another thank you Matthew was quick to address is to his father in fitting sentiment to conclude the article. “This anniversary is a testament to everyone at the business, to our customers who keep coming back and recommending us, and to the simple idea my father had when he founded the business: if you do things properly, people notice. I think that’s as true today as it was in 1975.
“I’d love to say a massive congratulations to my father for this huge milestone, and both Victoria & I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years reveals. Bring it on!”
