Heal's online department store

Heal's stocks only the very best in luxury modern furniture and home accessories. Most items are exclusive to Heal's and all share the high quality workmanship and attention to detail for which the Heals brand name is so well known. Heals also offer a large range of stylish giftware and contemporary garden furniture.

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Quick facts on Heals

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Heal’s was founded in 1810 as a bed making firm and was run as a family business until its acquisition by Habitat/Mothercare (later to become Storehouse) in 1983.

The firm has had, since its foundation, a distinctive character and reputation for innovation. Its present-day style was set during the long ‘reign’ of Sir Ambrose Heal, who worked in the Company as craftsman, designer and finally Chairman, for 60 years from 1893 to 1953.

Ambrose Heal’s great contribution both to the business, and to British furniture-making in general, was his ability to take the aesthetic ethos of the Arts and Crafts Movement – “Have nothing in your home except what you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” – and apply to it the disciplines and economies of commercial production techniques (albeit at the highest level of quality).

Ambrose Heal was also a founder, in 1915, of the Design and Industries Association, which eventually became the Design Council.

Heal’s has operated since its foundation in the Tottenham Court Road, and from the present site since 1840. Its first purpose-built store, completed in 1854, was then one of the largest in London. The central part of the present building was commissioned by Ambrose Heal and designed by his cousin and best friend Cecil Brewer. It was completed in 1917 and was immediately hailed as a landmark in shop architecture.

A second store was opened in Guildford in 1972 and the Company remained highly profitable until the mid 1970s, when it began to suffer losses, principally in the non-retail businesses.

Until its acquisition by Storehouse in 1983, the business operated as a number of separate companies carrying out particular trading activities. These included retailing, contracting, fabric conversion and wholesaling, cabinet furniture manufacture and bed and bedding manufacture. The various operating companies were owned by an investment company, Heal & Son (Holdings) Ltd. After the acquisition, a number of trading activities were reduced and the Company now operates only as a retailer.

In 1984 Heal’s was re launched and expanded to five stores from the original two. However, in the recession of the late 1980s the business again incurred losses and after shrinking back to the two original stores the Company was the subject of a management buy out.

The buy out became effective in September 1990 ending a seven year period in the Storehouse group of companies.

Whilst part of Storehouse, as one of a portfolio of retail chains, Heal’s benefited from the professional retail skills and disciplines that a large retail group can bring. However, Storehouse largely had a chain store mentality that did not sit comfortably with a brand like Heal’s, which has a strong and distinctive personality. The effect was to make the business a little bland, even dull, with the merchandise being somewhat uninspiring.

Following the advent of the buy out the business under went radical change to revitalise the brand and its personality.The merchandise range was considerably expanded with most of the product lines changed to new exclusive ranges largely designed specially for Heal’s. The merchandise style, character and mix was re-configured to appeal to a youngish audience 25-44 AB with the core customer being a young professional, in their early thirties, urban dwelling and without children. The marketing stance was to appeal to this audience in their contemporary language.

In the second half of the nineties Heal’s started to expand and develop, opening a new store on King’s Road Chelsea in December 1995 and floating the Company on the London Stock Exchange on 24 March 1997. Two years later on 23 October 1999 a fourth store opened at Kingston upon Thames.

The beginning of the 21st Century saw Heal’s launch its e-commerce and information website www.heals.co.uk in November 2000, just in time for Christmas trading and bringing Heal’s to customers further a field than the south east of England.

On 16 August 2001 Wittington Investments Limited acquired Heal’s plc. As a private company once again Heal’s was able to move forward free from the restraints imposed by being in the public arena and the short term focus of the City. The new owner of the Company fully supports the Heal’s brand and its unique character intending that Heal’s continues as a leading contemporary home furnishing retailer.

Over the past five years, Heal’s has been revitalising the business with new branding, including a new logo and graphics, introducing new products and services and producing a new branding campaign to convey the changes to the public. Expansion of stores, outside South East of England, has also started with the opening of Heal’s fifth store in the centre of Manchester on the 24 July 2003 and on Heal’s arriving at Redbrick Mill in Batley, near Leeds on 5 November 2005.

September 2006 saw the refurbishment of Heal’s flagship at 196 Tottenham Court Road, London W1 with new departments and a new restaurant and bakery run by Oliver Peyton. New services include Wedding and Gift Service online, adaptation and bespoke furniture, bespoke rugs and an updated curtain and blind making service.

In June 2007, Heal’s opened by the seaside in Brighton. Nestled in the stylish Lanes Area, it takes Heal’s store expansion to seven.

Future plans include the continuing expansion of stores outside the South East of England, together with constantly updated stores and merchandise to make Heal’s an inspirational and enjoyable place to shop for different home ideas and solutions.

Heal and Son Ltd is a furniture company that was established in the year 1810 and started off as a family business that specialized in making beds. Since our foundation, the firm has had a unique character and reputation for innovative ideas and applications. Our current style was indeed a trend that was set during the long association we had with Sir Ambrose Heal, who worked with the company as a craftsman, furniture designer, and finally became the Chairman of the company, staying for sixty long years. Ambrose Heal was recognized by art lovers and people with an aesthetic sense during his time, as he had the greatest of abilities when it came to furniture and quality aesthetic indoor art.

Today Heal and Son Ltd has a number of shops all throughout the country, and the main purpose of the online shopping portal was to provide all those who were far out of reach with an opportunity to purchase some great quality bedroom furniture suites, with ease and hassle free.

The Heal and Son Ltd online shopping portal now deals with a plethora of furniture, which includes dining, bedroom, kitchen, living room, office, lighting, storage and even bathroom. We offer a variety of online services as well, including online catalogues, brochures, design trends and hot seller listings. There are regular clearance sales, which are timed perfectly in sync with the holiday and purchase season!

At our online shopping store, we also have a number of guides, such as the “how to take care of cutlery guide�, “how to care for furniture guide� and more. Elle Magazine recommends our company as the most stylish and best furniture designers in UK as can be seen on our online shopping store. From silver mirrors to telephones of the 1950’s, rotating book stands, and the works of the latest in the design field, this is the one place you don’t want to miss while doing furniture shopping.

 

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