Any news of Pinetum?

I gather that since the autumn of this year the ailing Pinetum furniture company has been taken over by Hamptons Furniture from Portsmouth.  I have not seen any sign of the existing ranges continuing to be manufactured or sold but I hope that the skills and experience that were accumulated at the Trowbridge premises of Pinetum will not be lost forever to the British furniture industry.

Unrequited Love?

Doubtless we all feel the sting of a love that is not returned at some point in our lives, so I have a degree of sympathy for Pinetum regarding it's latest news release. This splendid British furniture maker offers its sincere congratulations to Cumbria-based furniture retailer Dandy for achieving 30 years in the business.

Pinetum lists Dandy as one of its official retailers and generously includes a link to the Dandy website. In return however, there is no Pinetum logo displayed amongst the suppliers logos on Dandy's pages and a brief search through the bedroom, dining or occasional furniture collections on Dandy's website shows none of Pinetum's ranges. Just collections that appear suspiciously similar to those of a rival furniture manufacturer, Devonshire Pine...

With furniture 'supermarkets' on the verge of dominating furniture retail in this country, I just marvel that such genteel - and I'm sure totally inadvertent - errors are still occurring.

"The report of my death is an exaggeration"

This is the quote famously attributed to author Mark Twain in the New York journal in 1897. Am I to infer, from the enquiry by Michael Robinson following my last post, that all is indeed well at Pinetum?

Michael merely asks the source of my information, but if he is someone involved with the company then surely he could correct any misunderstanding quickly and easily.

Watch this space...

Worrying times for Pinetum

Politicians may claim that we're out of recession (or that they're not fiddling expenses!) but times remain extremely difficult in the furniture industry. I am genuinely concerned therefore to hear rumours of difficulties at British furniture makers' Pinetum.

I have not always agreed with the views of some staff at this company but I have a huge respect for their ability to design and manufacture interesting and attractive furniture here in the UK and sell it at more or less competitive prices into a tough market. If we want to avoid a situation where the diversity of the British furniture market is overwhelmed by a tide of supersized manufacturer/importer/retailers in the same way that the grocery sector has been taken over by supermarkets, then we must hope that companies such as Pintetum continue to survive.

In praise of Pinetum furniture

Feeling a little churlish after publicising Pinetum's bad reviews, I feel it is only fair that I should offer some praise for some of their latest designs. They offer several collections of contemporary style furniture and these contain some genuinely inspired pieces.

Almost all manufacturers' idea of modern furniture is the same: straight lines, no embellishment, no curves. Some of these ranges look like a pastiche of Arts and Crafts or 1950s furniture, while others just look quite dull. Now, before you faint from the shock, I'm not saying that Pinetum hits the bullseye every time (they even have a dining table with turned legs a la Victorian kitchen style in one range!) but they are making a decent attempt to produce something different from everyone else.

Pinetum Furniture Bad Review Complaint

There is a bad review for the Pinetum Quercus range, this is to do with the wardrobe. The review is on compare store prices generally thought to be fairly independent. Here is the content of it anyway:-

I have had a pinetum oak wardrobe for 11 months the doors have swollen and
the bottom hinge has burst I have complained to three members of their
staff and keep getting fobbed off .Their suggestion is to leave the
furniture for the summer and it might shrink back This is not good enough
for what was expensive furniture and supposed to be top quality. I also
have two chest of drawers which the drawers keep sticking. I spoke to an
independent furniture company and they suggested that the furniture had
been sealed before it was properly seasoned

Direct Link to the review

Pinetum Bankrupt?

Recently it's come to the surface that Pinetum almost went bankrupt! A management buy out though saved the day.

It's understood all their main ranges will continue for now so in the short term at least you should still be able to source extra peices.

Naturally this insecurity has turned many consumers off the brand as it's common practice to buy say an Oak Sideboard then later would by a console table to suit, if the company ceases to exist that's not going to be possible.

For some time now the leading Pinetum range is the Quercus Oak Collection. One the biggest competitors to Pinetum is Devonshire Pine and many consumers are perhaps thinking twice and switching to their Oak ranges instead.

There are several big furniture companies that have gone through tough times recently, MFI, Courts Furniture, even gplan furniture have had their issues.