THE CONNECTION between a former croupier running a guest house who then opens a business selling furniture, at first sight seems to be rather random.

But when you look at Philip Main’s background, it becomes much easier to understand.

Phil - a man whose previous career includes working as a croupier on cruise ships - chose to go into the furniture business and create his own company - Manx Flat Pack Furniture (MFP) - because he couldn’t understand why furniture prices in the Isle of Man were so high.

“Our guest house has 27 rooms and we needed to furnish them all, so I spent a lot of time looking around the local furniture showrooms. Not only were prices really high, but the delivery time was also very slow and I couldn’t understand why, so I decided to carry out my own research.”

Philip’s first instinct was to go onto the internet and see what could be bought online. Prices were much lower, but delivery charges were still high for individual items. A showroom is desirable, but running a big retail outlet is costly. There were lots of questions, but not too many answers.

One of the biggest surprises, however, was to discover that virtually every single piece of furniture on display in any showroom has been assembled from a “flat pack”.

“I suppose I should have known, because on closer examination every piece of furniture obviously has to be assembled and it all arrives in a “flat pack” and has to be put together.

Further research led Philip to find a small number of reliable UK furniture manufacturers and importers, supplying goods at the right price. He organised delivery to the Isle of Man and the result was the setting up of MFP just over a year ago on July 4th 2009.

There was no showroom and the business operated entirely from his computer and the internet. Philip Main provided quality furniture at competitive prices, organised the freight and local delivery and the business has been averaging 200 hits per day ever since.

However, Philip knew that lots of the online website hits weren’t resulting in business, and he decided a showroom was a necessity so that customers could see and feel the quality of the furniture for themselves.

MFP’s first showroom opened at the Middle River industrial estate at the end of 2009, but Phil Main knew the location was not ideal and earlier this year moved to the Isle of Man Business Park and premises alongside the Post Office licensing office, just off Cooil Road, opposite the 4WD Centre.

“It was a good decision,” he added. “As everyone in retail knows, the key to having a showroom such as this is location, location, location. Well, we’ve certainly found this to be true.. This is a great location and we have noticed a major difference in the number of people coming through the doors. It was definitely the right decision to move.”

MFP’s showroom is surprisingly big, given the external appearance of the building. It enables an extensive display of furniture across the range. Permission is also in place to add a mezzanine level at a later date.

Fast delivery times are also making a difference. If the product on show needs to be ordered, then it’s normal in the Isle of Man for the delivery time to be anything upwards of three weeks and more. MFP made a conscious decision some time ago that they would have furniture delivered to customers within three to four days.

“We chose to have smaller freight units delivered quickly,” said Philip. “We could have waited until we had enough orders to fill a big container, which would have saved money, but we would then have had to wait a few weeks for it to arrive.

“It increases our freight costs, but we don’t pass this on to customers and they certainly seem to be very happy to have their items delivered in just a few days, instead of waiting weeks and weeks.”

One thing hasn’t changed, however. The internet origins of MFP are as strong as ever. Philip has two computers in-store for customers to sit and browse the company website and its 600 plus online products, and the website still has large hit rates, but now with the added bonus of being able to see the furniture itself in the showroom.

“The two go hand in hand together really well,” he added. “Modern internet website technology and a well located showroom. It works.”

For more about MFP Furniture click here