Minerva Furnishers Guild

William & Sons are a member of the Minerva Furnishers Guild, a dynamic furniture buying group representing over 100 top quality independent furniture retailers throughout the UK, Channel Islands & Ireland. Minerva is able to combine the individual strengths of independently owned businesses with the collective buying power of more than 150 stores, offering well designed, quality furniture at extremely competitive prices.

William & Sons today...
William Cole & his son William Jnr. are part of a long local family tradition in home retailing, having between them over 80 years experience in running family retail businesses. William & Sons in Level Street, Brierley Hill has now been established for over 13 years and has developed a reputation as one of the Black Country’s leading independent furniture stores with a proven commitment for quality, value & service.

Being a generation apart certainly helps the father & son buying team in their tireless quest for sourcing new and often exclusive furniture ranges from both home and abroad. William Jnr. has developed a keen eye for searching out the latest in design but never losing sight of the need to always offer value for money. William Snr. draws on his vast experience in buying furniture from all the major suppliers, both large and small, to personally select the finest quality furnishing for those wishing to buy that something different. By combining these passions they’re able to put together a comprehensive range of furniture personally selected form leading suppliers throughout the UK, Europe & the rest of the world.

“Our combination of tastes enables us to offer our customers a truly broad cross-section of products to suit all budgets & styles. Whether you’re looking for casual, classical or contemporary designs, you’ll certainly be able to find it at William & Sons.” – William Cole Jnr. (Financial Director)

By staying true to his grandfather’s original business ideals of always offering value for money and customer service, the company has, with the help of its dedicated staff and superb location, continued to go from strength to strength. Where so many of their competitors are constrained by remote management structures, higher overheads, varying degrees of service,  the demands of landlords, shareholders & head offices, William & Sons are still able to offer greater flexibility of choice and value for money, by still remaining a proper family owned & run business. Now more than ever, the father & son management team recognize that being flexible & able to offer great value & consistent levels of customer service is vital in seeing out the current economic downturn.

“I firmly believe that one of the main reasons for our continued success is having a genuine desire by all of us at William & Sons to achieve customer satisfaction. This continues to be reflected in the fact that this business has consistently grown on a solid base of returning customers and their recommendations to their friends and relatives.” – William Cole (Managing Director)

For a truly pleasurable furniture shopping experience, you’ll be able to get great inspiration from two massive floors of beautifully displayed furniture, whatever style you’re looking for! William & Sons can be easily found on Level Street, Brierley Hill, just opposite the Copthorne Hotel and overlooking the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The store is open 7 days a week with ample free parking.

History – four generations...
The original family business was started by William Cole’s grandfather after completing his military service in the First World War. It was started in a humble way, selling reclaimed building materials & was developed into a builder’s merchants by his sons including William Cole’s father – William (2^nd generation). The business grew into a local landmark selling all kinds of household items, even housing a collection of animals!

After leaving the original family business in 1985 to start a fresh business in Birmingham with his cousins Ed & Bob Shotton he was instrumental in creating another well known & successful business. In 1993 he sold his interest from this business & left with his son William Jnr (4^th generation) to search for a prime retail site within the Black Country to retail furniture from. Eventually in 1994, they found & purchased a superb site in Level Street, Brierley Hill, just opposite the luxury five star Copthorne Hotel, overlooking the giant Merry Hill Shopping Centre. The purpose designed refurbishment took almost 18 months to complete. A second floor was installed as part of the upgrade & the building was totally fitted out with individual designed room sets to give customers inspiration into how to furnish their own homes. As the business continued to expand a new leather studio, bedroom & bedding department was added in 2003. As part of this major expansion a brand new purpose designed & built distribution warehouse was also added to the site, creating Merry Hill’s largest furniture store.