Company History
It’s 1986; the fallout from the miner’s strike of
1984 has caused the closure of a chain of off license stores, owned by a Mr
Philip Lewis. Jobless and with only £100 in his pocket he sets about renting a
barrow in the infamous Metro Centre. On here he sells small gift items and
inexpensive toys that children would collect. Although slow at first, business
picks up and soon enough Mr Lewis acquires a second barrow. Then he has an idea about turning his barrows into
Geordie barrows. He suggests this to his local supplier, and before long the
Geordie passport, driving license and marriage certificate are born. As there
are only two colours required for these products (black and white) the
production costs are low, boosting his profit margin.
Later the Antiques Village is created within the Metro Centre. The idea here is
to provide an opportunity to starter businesses. An opportunity Mr Lewis
couldn’t pass up. As the units are already decorated the initial setting up
costs are low. His son David, 16 at the time, expresses an interest in joining
his dad in the family business, while wife Barbara volunteers to do the
paperwork.
Collectables is born!
His simply but clever philosophy that customers
would keep coming back to add to their collection of PenDelfin or Lilliput Lane was the very foundation of this thriving
business.
With business growing well,
Mr Lewis sets about locating a unit for an additional branch. The theory here
was that with two stores, there would a greater chance of being noticed by
passers by, i.e. greater coverage. The Garden Walk branch was soon opened in
1989. The theory worked with business booming in the Antiques Village branch. Eventually the Company became so successful
that it wasn’t long before a new store, the Galleria branch was opened. This
was the flagships store, but unfortunately because of its size and dominance in
the Metro Centre, business gradually disappeared from the first store. This
prompted a change in strategy and the dawn of a specialist cookware store. With
this branch, Oven To Table, stocking items not found in the Galleria branch,
business soon picked up.
In 1993 Oven To Table was moved to a more prominent
unit, which offered better frontage. This marked the end of the very first
store, however its success will not be forgotten.
1994 saw the opening of the Alnwick branch, the
first with a fully licensed restaurant.
1995 saw the opening of the Stockton branch, the UK’s first independent out of town glass and china
store. This was the biggest store at this time, and many were unsure how
successful it would be. Philip Lewis hoped that the Stockton store would fill a gap in the market, and he was
right, as the store was an instant success. However disaster struck just four
months after the opening of the store when fire tore through the building,
destroying much of the stock, and creating chaos at the busiest time of the
year. Staff however rallied together and open the store just five days later,
to ensure trading continued during the Christmas period. The following year in
1996 the Stockton branch was given a complete refit, including a new
floor for a restaurant. It was reopened with the help of some fire fighters in
March that year. Although the fire was costly because of the damage it caused,
the publicity created by this event put Collectables on the map, and attracted
a lot more business.
In September 1999 the Newcastle branch was finally opened, and for the
Lewis family this was a realisation of a dream. This 22,000 square feet store became
the flagship store, and is still the biggest to date. Just like the Stockton
and Alnwick branches it to has a restaurant.
Following this more stores were opened, Sunderland in 2000, and in Harrogate 2001. In all
the Collectables chain consists of 8 branches, with the possibility of further
stores in the future. Not bad when you think all of this started with just £100
and a barrow.