Capital gains for Graham and Brown as showroom opens in London

Graham and Brown is setting its sights on opening another showroom in the North of England after cutting the ribbon on a flagship shop in London.

Andrew Graham, managing director of the Blackburn-based wallpaper company, said the launch of the shop on King's Road in Chelsea on Wednesday was a success.

Speaking exclusively to Lancashire Business View, he said: “London is the heartbeat of design and Chelsea is the centre of home design. 

“We wanted to create a home for our customers and community and for them to be able to experience our range of products in person.

“For nearly 80 years, Graham and Brown has been helping people create loving homes and we wanted to bring our expertise and a bit of our signature Northern charm down to London.

“It makes it easier for our customers to experience our products and services firsthand.

“It’s all about delivering a personal, inspiring experience that reflects the heart of Graham and Brown and helping our customers to create the ‘look’ for their homes.”

Andrew was staying tight-lipped about the cost of the investment in the London site.

Andrew said: “As a family business we think long-term and this exciting investment puts us in the heart of the design community so it's well worth it.

“At our opening there were more than 100 key influencers who are part of our community and they love what we are doing.

“The reaction has been fantastic.

"This is our first flagship showroom in London, and we’ll soon be opening an additional showroom in another North of England location.”

Graham and Brown is still a family affair, John Carter, grandson of founder Henry Brown is chairman, and Andrew’s eldest daughter Iona is the brand and marketing controller.

Iona said: “I believe my great-grandfather Harold Graham and his best friend Henry Brown would be immensely proud of what Graham and Brown and achieved – the result of nearly 80 years of innovation, craftmanship and hard work.”

Iona’s sister Zebe, who will run the London store, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Graham and Brown as the second fourth-generation family member to step into the business.

“I can use all my experience from my fashion retail background to help grow our brand in this exciting and iconic location on the King's Road.

“This marks an exciting new chapter for the brand.”

The new showroom will allow customers to explore Graham and Brown’s offerings including range of wallpapers and bespoke mural designs and its palette of more than 350 paint colours.

A dedicated design hub will allow people to interactively create their bespoke mural designs using a custom-made tool.

Lancashire Business View featured an interview with Andrew Graham in the November/December edition last year.

He explained the changing face of the business to meet the demand for more environmentally-friendly, design-led and digitally-printed products.

Its strategy focused on increased investment in digital capabilities at a new state-of-the-art, low carbon production site in Padiham.