Celebrating 20 Years of Premier Cane Furniture

Celebrating 20 Years of Premier Cane Furniture

Premier Cane Furniture turns 20 years old this April 2022 and what a rollercoaster ride it has been, operating through the financial crisis in 2008, 5 Prime Ministers and a global pandemic. Here's a timeline of key events that have shaped the company over the last 20 years.

April 2002 - Opening our First Showroom

March 2002 was spent making leaflets and dressing the showroom in preparation for our official opening day on Good Friday which fell on the 1st of April 2002. On the morning of April fools day, we turned our closed sign to open and so began our journey, situated in the heart of Melton Mowbray, a historic town renown for its pork pies and stilton cheese. Here's an image of how we first set up in 2002:

Trading under the name 'Premier Cane & Crafts', founder, Mark Wheeler had transferred his 20 years of industry knowledge to his own business, focused on bringing environmentally friendly products to a larger market. Ellie focused on design and crafts, utilising the showroom's space in the most efficient way possible. Our time at Church Street had many highs and lows but it will always have a place in our hearts for where our journey began.

April 2008 - Moving to the Millhouse Greenhouse

Exactly 6 years to the day after founding the business, we decided to move to a larger space on the outskirts of Melton. The new environment came with a host of challenges with most of the struggles you would expect operating in a large greenhouse. Summers were hot and winters were cold but the new area came with much better access for large vehicles and double the space. The additional space allowed us to sell Christmas trees which became an annual event for the company. With the additional space, we decide to take on our first full range of outdoor garden furniture and since 2010 we have built a strong reputation in the high-quality outdoor furniture market.

The greenhouse allowed us to grow our physical presence and take the business online. www.premier-cane.co.uk was a primitive site back then but over the years it has grown into one of the largest collections of natural cane and rattan furniture on the internet. Our online store allowed more customers to find our business which allowed us to go on the hunt for a warehouse with more space, better infrastructure and less glass! 

 

2014- Present - East Goscote

The third time's a charm, moving into our current premises was a huge step for Premier Cane, better connections for customers and purpose-built offices increased productivity and growth. In 2016 we took on Drew as an apprentice to grow the website and expand the business digitally. In 2018 we had everything in place to begin importing, starting with conservatory furniture and then garden furniture the following year. With connections to Indonesia and China, we now have over 25 exclusive indoor and outdoor ranges, not bad for a company with only three full-time members of staff.

In 2021 we signed an agreement to donate the cost of planting a tree for every sale, which includes all online and in store orders. In less than one year we have collectively been able to donate hundreds of trees, for more information on our 'tree promise' and to see how many trees we have planted click here:  Premier Cane Furniture X Just One TREE

We have come a long way since 2002 but nothing would have been possible without the support we have had over the years, we would like to say thank you to all those who have helped us through the years, our customers and our suppliers. Here's to another 20 years.

History in pictures

Ellie, Mark & Drew 

 

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