Waterlooville: Thomas Sanderson celebrates 25 years in business

It started life from a tiny shop on Drayton High Street, so tight for space the fabric warehouse was in the ladies’ toilet. But now, 25 years later, blinds company Thomas Sanderson has grown to become Europe’s largest manufacturer and supplier of conservatory blinds, window blinds and shutters.

This month staff are celebrating a quarter of a century of doing business and looking ahead to another 25 years of growth.

Thomas Sanderson was founded by husband and wife Bob and Norma Thomas in 1991 and grew quickly thanks to forming key partnerships with companies like Anglian Home Improvements just a year after it was founded. The company moved to the Parkwood Centre in Waterlooville in 1992 where it steadily grew year on year and took on more and more staff as orders flowed in.

1996 was an important year for the company, when Bob Thomas took the decision to buy a huge consignment of fabric from an Australian company that had gone under. Current managing director Nigel Campkin recalled: “We had so much of it you couldn’t turn in any direction without seeing the fabric. We had it stacked up under people’s desks, behind doors, even above the ceiling tiles.”

The decision proved a winner for Thomas Sanderson as it inspired the first-ever autumn sale, something that played a major part in the company’s growth over the next 10 years.

In 1998 Thomas Sanderson moved to its current home in Waterlooville, where it has produced on average more than 170,000 blinds per year.

The couple sold the business through a management buyout in 2001, almost 10 years to the day from starting it, and two years later in 2003 it was purchased by Hunter Douglas, the largest window coverings business in the world. However, the firm has retained its family business feel and continues to have several generations of families working together.

Reflecting on the company’s success over the years Campkin said: “Bob and Norma were passionate about what they did and believed firmly in incentive and reward whilst having what they called ‘serious fun'. We’ve fought hard to maintain that culture and I believe it’s played a big part in Thomas Sanderson’s growth over the decades. The desire for growth is in the DNA of the company.”

He added that a focus on innovation and adapting to the needs of customers has contributed towards Thomas Sanderson’s longevity. Over the years the company has diversified and brought in a range of new products, including wooden shutters, automated control systems and even a conservatory valet service. In recent years it has acquired additional space in Coventry and Warwick to meet the demands of the UK market but its headquarters remains firmly in Waterlooville.