A NEW company may be a new venture at a venue familiar to many in the Hyde community – but the people behind it are far from new to each other.
For Tom Gee and Christopher Carr, who have launched The Mill Furniture Outlet, have been friends for more than 30 years and Tameside is home territory after growing up in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Providence Mill, on Alexandra Street, has been synonymous with housing a furniture store.
Now after the business bearing the building’s name closed, Tom and Christopher have taken over the space and set up The Mill Furniture Outlet.
Specialising in sofa sets and mattresses, it also offers furniture including dining sets and coffee tables.
And because it is an outlet store, the high street brands are available for a fraction of high street prices – with savings of up to 70% off the big brands – after weeks of thinking resulted in them ‘taking the plunge’ alongside their online store.
One whose reputation has spread and one whose ethos will be echoed at the Hyde site.
Christopher said: “We don’t just sell to local people, we sell national.
“People go into these stores, and we deal with the big brands. So we get really high-quality furniture, but we’re near enough the cheapest in the country with what we charge.
“We don’t try to be greedy out of things, but we just try to work with the market and the margins and try to be for the customers.
“We’re not trying to charge big, stupid prices, just a fair price for the items.
“For our other businesses, the feedback is 100 per cent. Every customer review is positive and we’ve been brought up where you treat people the right way.
“There’s a history, obviously, with the place, so when this came up, the idea was we want to try to get something more established for ourselves and for the children in the future, to become more of a family business.
“Tom worked in a shop in Ashton for about 20 years that’s successful, so we know there’s a market for it.
“But we thought, ‘There’s nothing doing what we do in the area. There might be the odd shop who gets a couple of little things, but nothing to our volume and scale.
“’Why not try to do this for the local community, so people don’t have to pay big, silly prices but get the quality of stuff – and they can come to view it?’
“So we saw this and came in. The last time I came around here, I was doing my driving test!
“I was like, ‘Wow, it has got a bit of appeal, you can see yourself buying something from here.’”
The Mill Furniture Outlet may occupy a big space – just as Tom and Christopher who decorated it and fitted it out – but do not think that once it is full, that’s it.
New stock is coming in all the time and the range on show is ever evolving.
@ggc_media A major new furniture outlet has opened its doors in Hyde, bringing high-end branded furniture to the town at heavily discounted prices. The Mill Furniture Outlet, based at Providence Mill on Alexandra Street, boasts a 20,000 sq ft showroom stocked with more than 200 sofas, over 100 designer mattresses, beds in a wide range of styles and colours, and a new collection of dining tables and chairs. Shoppers can expect savings of up to 70% off typical store prices on brands including Next, DFS, John Lewis, Furniture Village, and Benson for Beds. The store says it offers the largest choice of big-name furniture in the area, all under one roof, with items available to take home immediately. The Mill Furniture Outlet is open now at Providence Mill, Alexandra Street, Hyde, SK14 1DX. For more information, call 0161 825 0054 or 07534 625452, or visit themillfurnitureoutlet.com. AD
“New things are being added every day,” Christopher continued. “Things are always changing. Some items you see are one-offs, some things we can get made again out of the factories, so there’s a mixture.
“And there’s a variety of things as well, we don’t want to just be appealing to one customer, one clientele, we want a mixture of everything.
“We’ve got sofas from £399 all the way up to £4,000. There are more than 200 sofas in stock, 100 plus mattresses, and again prices range.”
Things may be running smoothly at The Mill Furniture Outlet, but it took a lot of hard work from Tom and Christopher to get there.
But while it is a new company, there is a nod to the space’s past – one the pair are aware of in a business sector they know.
“We moved in in April,” the latter added. “We spent three months redecorating and changing things”
“Providence had closed for a period of time, so we wanted some time to change it, give it a fresh new look, but go with some history as well.
“But you can see pictures and signs of the mill for the local community, so they recognise everything.
“We’ve been friends for about 30 years, since we were 12-years-old. We both grew up in the area and both worked for a furniture shop in Ashton – I drove a van, left and Tom went into that business!”
The Mill Furniture Outlet is open online at https://themillfurnitureoutlet.com/ but its showroom is open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday from 9.30am until 4.30pm and 10pm-4pm on Sunday.
Although, they are on the end of a phone line whenever as Tom added: “We’ve been messaging people at 10pm and 6am!”
The Mill Furniture Outlet can also be contacted by phone on either 0161 825 0054 or 07534 625452 email at info@themillfurnitureoutlet.com.
