If you grew up in East Yorkshire, there’s a good chance you will have heard the name ‘Tony’s Textiles’ before. Our old stall at Beverley Market, bright orange shop signs and reputation for great value for money have made us somewhat of a local icon here in Hull and the surrounding areas.
Tony at Beverley market, where it all began!
Whilst we are now one of the UK’s leading online soft furnishings retailers, Tony’s Textiles actually began life in 1975 on a market stall in the East Yorkshire town of Beverley. We remained there for 34 years and built up a strong, loyal customer base with some of our customers getting to know us so well they invited us to their weddings and other family occasions! The first Tony’s Textiles shop opened in 1976 in Withernsea and over the years we opened a further 14 stores throughout Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Tony’s Textiles is named after Tony Kirby, who is from a little village in East Yorkshire. Tony has enjoyed a varied career including making and selling duvets, importing bagpipes from Pakistan and being one of the first people to sell Pampers disposable nappies in the country!
In 1971 Tony started working at the large BP Chemicals plant in Hull as a Pipe Welder (a far cry from bed sheets and pillow cases!).
It was during his time at BP that Tony first developed his entrepreneurial spirit! He started to wash cars and later moved on to selling eggs and chickens from local farms in the car park to his colleagues (earning him the affectionate nickname ‘Chicken Joe’!). He later moved onto selling watches and wood during the miners’ strike.
Tony’s next venture saw him sell Olde Moore’s Almanacks after spotting a chap selling them at Withernsea market. He applied for a Peddler’s License so he could sell the books door to door and travelled all around the country doing so.
Tony’s biggest breakthrough was selling duvets, which were imported from Scandinavia. At the time, duvets were fairly new to the UK, but soon became a must-have product for every home. After purchasing and selling the duvets for a while, Tony decided he should make them himself. He employed 25 local ladies with sewing machines to make them, supplying them with fabric and filling. Tony’s duvets were a hit and he was soon selling them to large chains of shops and taking them up to Scotland to sell at Ingliston Sunday Market in Edinburgh.
Tony sold thousands of the duvets in Scotland which prompted his bank manager to question why he was paying lots of Scottish money into his bank account every week – he thought lots of Scottish people were visiting the area! Never one to pass up a good opportunity, Tony also imported bagpipes from Pakistan and sold those in Scotland too (much to the amusement of two Scottish police officers who pulled him over to find his van full of them!).
In the 80s and 90s, Tony was one of the first people in the UK to sell Pampers disposable nappies. Every week he imported two 40ft containers into the country and they sold like hot cakes! However, a big supermarket and national chemist tried to stop his supply. Not one to be defeated, Tony travelled to Proctor and Gamble’s headquarters in Stuttgart and arranged supply from Poland (much to his competitors’ displeasure!).
Tony’s Textiles is now a family-run business, with Tony’s three sons working with him. Our HQ is based in Hull along with our large warehouse and distribution facility. After Tony’s sons finished university, they suggested that Tony’s Textiles should start selling online. So, together, they made the decision to sell Pokémon quilts and Harrington nappies on eBay. After three months they had sold … nothing! However, Tony and the boys persisted and Tony’s Textiles is now one of the leading online retailers of soft furnishings.
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