Tiffany Wiltshire, Sales & Marketing Director at Haskins Furniture, talks about buying habits, sustainability and shining the spotlight on its longest serving employee.
Meet Tiffany
I am responsible for all the marketing for the business. I’ll liaise with agencies to book TV, Google, Meta, magazines and watch for trends and what works. Driving footfall into the store or onto the website is my main responsibility but I also oversee sales and ensure our internal system is working correctly to enable our sales team to be efficient. I also work closely with our department managers and have a good understanding of the business as a whole so we can implement changes, whether that be within the warehouse, or through to our pricing department. Having worked every role within Haskins Furniture throughout the years, it helps me understand what everyone requires to do their roles.
Recent investments?
In April 2024, we invested in SEO and PPC to further improve sales online and started investigating any improvements we could make to aid the sales team on the shop floor. We invested in tablets/laptops and mobile phones which helps the sales team be proactive when selling. As we have large showrooms with multiple back rooms, it can be a bit of a maze, this enabled the sales team to be flexible and find information at the touch of a button without needing to head back to a desk, leaving the customers.
We are always investing in our showrooms to ensure that our customers get the best experience possible, we have recently changed all our lighting over to LEDs and invested in new supplier displays such as our Orla Kiely display and new Adjust-A-Bed gallery.
Future plans?
We would absolutely love to grow the business! Plans for 2025 are to increase sales, and we’ve had a great start at this so far. We are looking at all different marketing options and seeing what works so we can increase footfall and sales.
What is your mission?
Our mission is to work together as a team to deliver exceptional products and services to our customers. We are dedicated to all of our customers, new or existing, and will always strive to go above and beyond to help. Our sales team are very knowledgeable and friendly; they are not pushy and allow customers to browse and ask questions in their own time. From sales, to warehouse, to office, we all have customers at the forefront of our minds and believe we offer a high level of service which sets us apart from competitors.
On sustainability, what is your business doing on this topic?
We offer our customers the opportunity to remove their existing furniture when we deliver their new. Working closely with the local community and charities, any furniture with fire labels and that looks like it’s useable is offered to those first. This enables us to rehome furniture to those in need.
Our buyer is dedicated to sustainability and is always on the look out for sustainable products and services. Logistics is one of her annoyances and where possible she will use suppliers that will deliver direct to the customer rather than the furniture travelling to our warehouse and then back out to the customer.
How has recent business been? What trends are you noticing?
Business at the start of 2024 was very tough. The cost of living, elections and other world issues affected sales. But the end of 2024 and the start of 2025 has been strong and is continuing to be promising. We’ve noticed a difference in the average age of our customers and our total order value has increased. The one surprising factor for me is that our non-branded furniture is competing closely with our top name brands, which shows different buying habits than previous years.
What would you change in the industry?
Although retailers are in competition with each other, I do think there are some areas where we could all help each other. In future, I’d like to see retailers pulling together to overcome shared challenges.
What challenges do you currently face and how are you overcoming these?
Certainly, the biggest challenge for us this year is the rise in costs, such as National Insurance, rates and insurance increases. We pride ourselves on our large, beautiful showrooms so that customers can see and try all the different options, and we ensure we have a high calibre of employees to ensure our customers journey is exceptional. However, the rising costs of running large stores makes it a challenge and we are constantly having to look at how we streamline costs without it effecting our growth.
Do you have any staff you would like to pay special thanks or recognition to and why?
We appreciate all our staff, they are all hard-working, loyal and go above and beyond. I believe Sue Dawson deserves a massive amount of recognition as our longest serving employee, totaling over 41 years with Haskins. Sue is knowledgeable, reliable and has seen and can tell stories about Haskins’ history.
Why do you think customers choose your business?
Being a family-run business, especially for over 80 years, means a lot to customers. Haskins is now in its 4th generation with Jade, the great granddaughter of Jack Haskins who founded the business.
As we have large showrooms and staff on hand to help, customers apricate having choice, help at their leisure and time to consider what they need and want. Customers chose a local family business because of the service they receive.
