Cousins was founded in August 1984 by three cousins - Robert, Edward and William - and the first Cousins' furniture store opened its doors on 17th August 1985. Today, they own the freehold to all five of their sites, including Dudley, Tyseley and their newly opened flagship store in Manchester. The second generation of the family is now also actively involved in the day-to-day running of the business.
The original family business had been established in 1921 and had originally specialised in selling items and materials reclaimed from household demolitions. It had sold such things as reclaimed timber, 19th Century fire surrounds and roll-top baths to builders, and also to private customers doing their own home improvements.
The business then developed into a builders' merchants, selling building materials, aggregates and, later, new fireplaces and baths, alongside the reclaimed items. Even at this early stage, they had built a private zoo on-site, which proved a huge attraction for all ages and an unbelievable "ahead-of-time" marketing tool for the firm.
As time moved on, the business began to sell household electrical items and also furniture, which was to become the future of the business.
The first Cousins' furniture store opened in Tyseley, Birmingham in August 1985, where they traded from a 50,000ft2 showroom with adjoining offices and warehouse. This new venture was a resounding success and the warehouse was soon relocated, and the showrooms expanded by 30%.
By 1995, a second retail site was acquired when they purchased the freehold of the landmark Tesco building in Dudley. This was transformed into a 90,000ft2 furniture showroom, with its own customer restaurant and a separate 12,500ft2 unit. The store was opened on 17th August 1996, by Jack and Vera Duckworth from Coronation Street, bringing the town centre to a standstill.
Due to the resulting high sales volumes, the head office, warehouse and distribution functions were centralised to a 4 acre site in Oldbury on the side of the M5, which the company had purchased from B.P. Oils. This opened in September 1997 and the new 65,000ft2 warehousing facility utilised a palletised, computer-generated order picking system and pioneered the use of articulated fork-lift trucks in the furniture industry.
The relocation of the main offices from Tyseley to Oldbury allowed fresh expansion and the refurbishment of the original Tyseley showrooms in 1999 - to its existing size of 90,000ft2, complete with a new customer restaurant.
By November 2004, Cousins had set its sights on building a flagship store in Manchester and establishing itself in the North-West of England, having gained an unquestionable reputation for quality and service in the West Midlands.
They purchased a 4 acre site on the A57, Regent Road at the end of the M602 in Salford and soon built an inspirational 90,000ft2 new concept store offering the largest selection of furniture in the whole of the North-West, and room set displays that set new standards in the furniture industry.
The store has been acclaimed as England's finest furniture store, attracting customers from across the North-West and regularly from Liverpool, Preston, North Wales and the Scottish Borders.
This flagship store also incorporates large lighting, picture and furniture accessories departments, plus a customer restaurant where you can contemplate your thoughts.
Due to the store's resounding success, the Company has had to re-think its initial plans to trunk home deliveries up the M6 from their Oldbury distribution centre. By Christmas 2005, they had opened a new 33,000ft2 warehouse close to Manchester Airport on the M56 which now forms the hub of their North-West home delivery network.
Autumn 2008 saw the arrival of brand new state-of-the-art Miele kitchen departments from AFG Kitchens UK - with a worldwide reputation for exceptional build quality and design. We are able to offer a full design and build service that equals the quality of the kitchen itself.
The success of the Manchester store’s venture into home accessories saw the appointment of a Homewares Buyer, Samantha Gough in Summer 2008 with the subsequent opening of new Homewares Departments in the Tyseley Store in December 2008.
This exciting new venture includes departments for tableware, cookware, furnishing accessories, a picture and mirror gallery, bed linens and a bath shop. It has involved a significant investment, with a cutting edge store fit-out by Jameson Smith Associates and showcases leading brands such as Denby, Maxwell and Williams, Christy, Vossen, Typhoon, Nigella Lawson and bedlinen ranges from Kylie Minogue, Twiggy and Linda Barker.