Fashion trends come and go, but the family-run Atlantic Shopping business will soon be celebrating 50 years of success at its current address in Birmingham city centre.
After diversifying from a cash and carry to the furniture trade more than a decade ago, it now claims to be the country’s leading supplier of barstools.
Watch our video guide below to see the impressive range inside the company’s showroom on the very edge of the Westside BID area that’s the capital of Birmingham’s nighttime economy.
Atlantic Shopping began life in 1961 as a market stall in Smethwick, quickly followed in 1962 with a shop called V. N. Warehouse on the Lichfield Road in Aston.
The company became Britannic Warehouse in 1971 when it bought out a business on Summer Hill Road. Another shop was opened on Warstone Lane and, in 1973, it also bought an old bakery on Finch Road, Lozells.
It moved to its present Sandpits address in 1974, where the cash and carry business V. N. & Britannic Warehouse Ltd was opened in May 1975 by the Mayors of Birmingham, Dudley and Sandwell.
Diverting into importing and exporting in the 1980s saw the site expand in 1990 with the purchase of an adjacent property. Other notable ventures included moving onto eBay in 2004, rebranding as Atlantic Shopping in 2007 and launching a website in 2010.
The cash and carry closed in 2012 in favour of selling furniture online, and the showroom was revamped in 2013. Just three years later, Atlantic claimed to be the UK’s leading barstool retailer, including an expansion into selling directly into France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Originally founded by two brothers – his father and uncle – Sunil Laroiya works on the finance side alongside first cousin and business owner Paul Laroiya, the latter away at a trade show in Cologne when we visited. Their seating is designed in-house, with finished products usually imported from China.
Sunil says: “For years we were a cash and carry, but we really found our niche when we switched to furniture.
“We have more than 50 employees and remain a genuine family business, all helping each other without treading on each other’s toes.”
Following the Covid era, one of the new challenges faced by Atlantic now includes the future of shipping in the Red Sea.
But the company’s future still looks bright thanks to high stock levels and trends including the high development rates of giant apartment blocks in and around the city centre.
Sunil added: “We supply bars and restaurants but also everything from apartments to retail make-up counters, TV dramas, exhibitions and events. However, the main core of the business is direct to the home consumer.”
● Atlantic Shopping is at the Britannic Warehouse, 142 Sandpits, Birmingham B1 3RJ and has free parking (for customers only) outside. The website is www.atlanticshopping.co.uk.
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