History of G Plan

It's more than 100 years now since Ebenezer Gomme set up his furniture making business in 1898 in the town of High Wycombe, in Bucks. He joined hundreds of other furniture makers in the area, satisfying the insatiable demand for furniture from the rapidly growing cities of Industrial Revolution England and drawing on the abundant supplies of timber from the Chiltern beech woods that surrounded them.

By dint of hard work and insistence on the highest standard of quality, the company grew steadily from its humble beginnings. There were interruptions and set backs. During the First World War the company was set to making DC9 aircraft; in 1922 the factory was completely gutted in a disastrous fire. But, by 1939 it had become one of the largest manufacturers in the industry at the time.

Then came war again and once more the company's services were required - this time they played a leading part in the production of the famous Mosquito aircraft.

The experience gained in machining and assembling wooden parts to tolerances normally associated with metal working stood the company in good stead when life eventually got back to normal in the 1950s.

Once again there was much pent up demand to supply and Donald Gomme - Ebenezer's grandson - was able and willing to supply it. One of his many bright ideas was to promote his products direct to the consumer - unheard of at that time for a manufacturer. And thus G Plan - the name he coined in 1953 - became the first furniture brand to be heavily promoted through advertising.

The first G Plan model - Brandon in light oak - was ultra modern for the time and the company's fresh and vigorous approach became all the rage, leading to a hey day of success throughout the sixties. G Plan was one of the first to latch onto the fashion for teak, Scandinavian style furniture, for example.

In fact G Plan can lay claim to a whole series of 'firsts' in the world of furniture. It was the first company to introduce the concept of whole house furnishing - much boosted by significant TV advertising in the early seventies. In those heady days there was even a flagship London showroom in George Square, W1.

It was also the first to introduce modular furniture: Form Five was the name of the first range, which had a base unit with a sliding door mechanism and five bookcase display elements for the tops.

G Plan was also the first to introduce flip action extending dining tables; and the first to put stops on cutlery drawers to prevent them (and their contents) from being spilled onto the floor.

In 1987 the Gomme family - major shareholders in the company, which had gone public in 1958 - decided to retire. They sold the business to the then directors, who, three years later, sold it to the Christie Tyler group of companies. In 1996 the Morris Furniture Group acquired the licence to make and market G Plan Cabinet furniture from its state of the art facilities in Glasgow. It has since developed and extended the range into today's highly successful collection, securing the future of the famous brand for the 21st century.

Today the ethos behind G Plan Cabinets retains many of the values that built the company's reputation in the past. Style, function, service and quality are at the heart of all that the business does. Thanks to continuing investment and innovation it remains a brand to respect and admire for a new era and a new generation of customers.