Tell us about Stocktons – what is it like running the family business?
It’s interesting. When families work together they really work together, and when it goes off, it really goes off. We have a good dynamic where we all stay in our own lanes. There are 3 family members working for the business – I look after the majority of the brands and a lot of the day-to-day stuff, my sister does the accounts, and then my dad looks after one brand.
My kids might go into it, might not. I would like them to but my wife doesn’t, because it changes you as a family. You don’t have many conversations that aren’t work-oriented, because it’s the biggest thing you’ve got in common. That’s why I think it’s important to have a separation of the two. I don’t talk about work with my wife, and she hates that, but it’s just the only way it works for me, otherwise I feel like I’m working twice. So we don’t talk about work at all. It’s not easy for her, but it’s best for us.
How do you choose your suppliers?
I travel all over China, Germany, Italy, and UK, trying to source the best brands, getting to shows first, and trying to find what we think our customers will like. My process should probably be more technical, but I go by my gut and what I like. And I also make judgements based on the people behind the brands, because you’ve got to deal with them for years. A lot of the brands I choose are similar to what my father would have chosen years ago when he was in charge.
Who are your favourite furniture designers and why?
Timothy Oulton is incredible. He doesn’t work out how to make something more reasonable – he wants to make it better; make it perfect and aspirational. Timothy Oulton, in particular, wants you to love your furniture. He doesn’t want you to think ‘yea that’ll do’, he wants you to think ‘that’s amazing. I want that. I must have it.’ He’s just brought out a range called Arc that plays with mirrors and lighting. When it all lights up, it looks like it never ends – it’s just mirror after mirror, after mirror.
Timothy Oulton also created a functioning piece of artwork with a bottle of Champagne in it – we have one here in store. It’s so carefully engineered – a ball drops and bounces in a certain way to land in a cup, dropping back down and around again in a never-ending loop. It took one man 250 hours to make it. They only ever made 50 of them, so it’s a really special piece.
Are there any trends we should look out for in 2024?
It changes all the time. There’s a new Pantone colour each year that they say is going to be the big thing. This year is peach, but grey is still the majority of our sales. The most common trend brands still follow is minimalism – less is more. And mixing items – people used to thing everything had to match, but that’s not a thing anymore. Timothy Oulton has a range called Fibi dining chairs, and their inspiration comes from wallpapers that were almost flaking away, so he turned it into a fabric. People can mix things up and have a lot of fun with it.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to customers who want to start mixing eclectic pieces but don’t know where to start?
Don’t just make do with something – buy pieces you actually want to have, and don’t buy everything at the same time. Take your time and see how you use the room first. The worst thing people can do is overfill it. Remember that things don’t have to colour match and they don’t have to coordinate. See what grows on you. Take pictures so you remember it all. You don’t have to go all out on the bigger pieces of furniture, have fun with accessories – things that you’ll be able to replace easily when the trends come and go.
How would you describe your own interior design style?
My wife chooses everything. It’s much easier. If I chose it, I’d be constantly changing my mind every month.
What makes designer furniture worth investing in?
A lot of it doesn’t necessarily have to cost more than other furniture. In a lot of other stores, you’re paying for finance and advertising, whereas with us you’re not paying for either of those. People will go and buy a sofa with 5 years’ interest-free credit, but it’s a sofa that’s priced a lot higher than it should be. Our prices are at their best possible, kept simple, so you aren’t paying for frills.
The word designer can put people off, but we really want people to come in and fall in love with pieces that we sell. We want them to be wowed and feel looked after. We want them to have a nice experience with us so that they keep coming back. It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.
What’s your favourite thing about your job?
People. I’m a people person. Although I don’t like to be well-known or tell people who I am when I’m out and about. I like talking to people and finding out what they do. You meet all kinds of people in here. I’m a people person, although some might disagree with that because by the time I get out of work I just don’t want to talk at all. After work I go to the gym, decompress, and it’s back to dad life.
What’s your proudest business moment to date?
I set up a business on my own in Liverpool called Natuzzi, which I was very proud of, but it didn’t work out. Stocktons works because my sister is very good on accounts, my dad is good at overseeing, and I’m good with people, and you need all those aspects to run a business. But I learned so much from the failure of it. Having something that felt truly like mine was a very proud moment. In the family we each take Stocktons a step further, but it’s really all the work of my grandparents and my father.
Do you find that there is more pressure running a family business?
There is always more pressure, but it’s from myself. I don’t just want to be known as the next generation. They say ‘from rags to riches to rags’, so I’m supposedly the one to bring the business back to rags again. When I first started I was just Breck’s son. But you want to create your own legacy which I’d like to think I’m starting to do. And now I’m Molly and Finley’s dad, so it’s gone full circle – you become your children’s parents, and that’s how people know you.
Are you personally working on anything at the moment?
Always. It never stops. I’m working on my padel game and I’ve just finished doing up a place in Wales – Hale on Sea (Abersoch).
You’re a very private person and you’ve made it clear how you like to stay under the radar, but there’s one picture that shows up when you Google your name. What’s the story behind Kit Stockton holding Jedward?
For my thirtieth birthday, my dad got me a meet and greet with Jedward – I don’t know why, but I was a bit obsessed with them. We thought we were going to get an exclusive experience, because we paid so much money for it through Help For Heroes. When we get there, I’m queued up with a mate of mine with a load of 10 and 12 year old screaming girls, queuing to get a picture with Jedward. It was very, very unusual. I felt like I had to go and do something very manly straight afterwards – weird experience, but amazing.
I don’t like to put myself out there, and I tend to stay off social media in general. Conor (Cheshire Paint) and I also do a lot for The Toy Appeal, and I’m not in a single photograph or video. I don’t like to be known.
What does the future look like for Stocktons? Anything exciting coming up?
We’re going to be developing and moving. We’re still going to trade on what we know, but work more with the designers and have a nicer-looking showroom. Unfortunately, this place is too big and too old to showcase what we do properly. I’d say the future looks very positive. We’re moving at the right time, we’re doing the right things – we’ll just keep doing them better.
If it weren’t for Stocktons, what would you be doing?
Everyone asks me this, and I have no idea. I was very good at tennis as a kid. I was nationally ranked under 10s and then stopped completely. I was number 5 or 6 in Cheshire, and Cheshire was the strongest county. The guy who was number 1 went on to be number 1 under 16s, but then dropped out and couldn’t make it to pro.
But I really don’t know what I would be doing if it weren’t for Stocktons because at 10 years old my parents got divorced, and at 11 I was selling furniture. My dad used to work weekends and every Sunday I was in here. I sold my first sofa at 11 years old, so I’ve never known anything else. At 16 I quit school and went straight on the vans for 3 years, and I’ve done every job except accounts in here, so I know what the lads go through. I still load vans, load containers, and I drive the vans occasionally.
How big of a role does social media play in the growth of a furniture business?
We get a lot of customers from Pinterest. We do a little bit on Instagram and Facebook, but Pinterest is where we see the most traction. We get over 100,000 hits a month to our website from Pinterest when we post regularly. We’ve only made a couple of sales through Instagram, whereas we’ve made quite a few through Pinterest. It all depends on the business, but Pinterest is particularly huge for furniture and home decor. It’s great for SEO as well.
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