COLIN DONALD
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (cdonald@scotsman.com)

DWELL, the fast-growing furniture chain based in London, is to open its first Scottish branch, with a 10,000sq ft outlet in Princes Square, Glasgow.

The Wimbledon-based chain – 90 per cent of whose products are designed in-house – has invested £500,000 in setting up the shop.


Sean Galligan, Dwell’s Scots-born co-founder and marketing director, said he expected the new store to turn over £3 million in its first year, and that further new Scottish stores were part of a UK-wide expansion drive.

Galligan said: “We are continually growing customer base in Scotland, especially in the Strathclyde region, so Princes Square is the perfect base for us to begin our expansion into the Scottish market.

“We will be looking at rolling out over the next 12 months to cities including Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.”

Dwell, which has doubled its turnover for two successive years to the current £15m (generating £2m of profit), also intends to open new shops in Manchester and Cheltenham within the next five months.

Aamir Ahmad, Dwell’s chief executive, who designs for the company, said: “Moving into Scotland was always a key part of our expansion plan. We want our new store to be bright, fashionable and aspirational.”

Ahmad and Gilligan launched Dwell in 2003, after Ahmad, a former business consultant, sold his previous furniture business, Ocean. Ahmad ascribes the firm’s rapid growth to its ability to cater for a “large gap in the market” between volume stores such as Ikea and expensively branded designer outlets.

“The furniture world is strange because there is nothing between the equivalent of Primark and Prada,” said Ahmad.

“The middle ground is wide open, which has allowed us to thrive.

“Most retailers don’t design their own stuff; they are buying in. We develop our own ranges, and hold a lot of stock which cuts out long waits for customers.”

Fiona Moriaty of the Scottish Retail Consortium yesterday welcomed the addition of a new player in the furniture retailing market.

She said: “Spending on household goods has risen dramatically in recent years as people spend more of their disposable income on interior design and other household products.

“Unlike our parents’ generation, we regularly overhaul the look of our homes.

“Shopping for the home has become a leisure activity in itself, as you can see in the proliferation of DIY magazines.

“There is plenty of room in the Scottish market for a mid-tier retailer with something new to bring to the marketplace.”