Business Profile
If not for its increasing customer base for many the Aladdin’s cave head office warehouse of Office Clearance and Wholesale (OCW) must be one of the UK’s best kept secrets in the supply of pre-owned furniture.
Located three miles from junction 16 on the Swindon side of the M4, the business has grown steadily since 2005 - enjoying particularly significant expansion over the last 18 months.
As founder and managing director Paul Smith said: “For many years, small businesses have had to search out bargains: sharing offices, receptionists and where possible buying used office furniture instead of new. Recent events in the financial markets and around the world have meant that larger businesses are also now looking for more cost effective solutions wherever possible.
“In the recent past, used office furniture has been associated with tiny shops and small warehouses, all bargains in their own right but a complete mish mash of styles, and the corporate image that growing companies and larger corporations want, cannot be found in these small establishments - until now, that is.”
Wandering round the warehouse (or navigating the website - www.officecw.co.uk) one is at first struck by the sheer scale of the operation. Closer inspection reveals a staggering range and choice of high quality products culled from major office clearances. The ghosts of the past hint at what stories these pieces of furniture might have to tell - the need to give them a new home becomes all the more compelling when you realise what professional refurbishment can do. Even 20-year-old wood veneer furniture such as as boardroom tables and reception desks can be stripped down, polished and made to look like new.
Mr Smith – still very much the driving force of the business, continued: “Chairs can be reupholstered in any colour. We have more than 3,000 desks, chairs and furniture ranging from budget priced items through to the top end manufacturers like Hermann Miller, Knoll, Kinnarps and Steelcase. It is now possible to furnish an office for up to 200 staff, from stock.
“Delivery and installation are free on most orders and normally inside seven days. It is even possible to have same-day delivery in many instances, although as the business grows this will be one of the many challenges faced, keeping the same principles and values that have meant six years of straight growth.
“At OCW this has meant steady growth, because finding the right people is always the key: the right staff and the right customers, building long term relationships where possible. This will continue to be the main focus for the foreseeable future because there are plans to expand the business into major cities around the UK starting with Birmingham, Cardiff and Slough, perhaps along the lines of IKEA but purely with used office furniture.
“Already, because of the growth of the internet and the large amount of stock shown on our website, we offer a nationwide service both on the clearance and installation side.
“All of the furniture supplied has been pre-owned, most of it looks like new although the pricing is what gives it away.”
With all products enjoying a 12-month warranty and exceptional customer service, it becomes clear that buying secondhand furniture need no longer be an alternative option - it could and perhaps should be the first port of call. After all as Mr Smith said, by buying pre-owned furniture you are also doing your bit for the green revolution.
“It takes 2.5 tonnes of raw materials to make one tonne of office furniture according to Defra and each employee will use on average half a tonne. This is easy maths, if you are furnishing an office for 20 staff and buy new your carbon footprint will be 25 tonnes.
“If you can join the growing band of environmentally (and bottom line) conscious businesses and try a different approach in the above example, you would have no carbon footprint at all saving all of the 25 tonnes.
“With 400,000 tonnes of office furniture estimated to go to landfill annually, there is still a long way to go. You can help the environment and your bottom line but at the same time you can be part of a revolution, a new way of thinking in an otherwise throw away society.”
So there you have it- whether a SOHO (small office/home office), SME or corporate customer open your eyes to what OCW might be able to do for you.
Telephone (01793) 619744 or email sales@officecw.co.uk
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