Family business celebrates a centenary of quality furniture

Putting customers first remains a key principle

Peter Casey, director Casey's Furniture. Picture: Miki Barlok

A century is a significant milestone in any business and an achievement that Casey’s Furniture happily commemorates this month.

Established by John Casey in 1921, the company supplied furniture to local residents after the burning of Cork, which decimated a large part of the city the previous year.

Currently under the leadership of grandsons Peter and David Casey, the business now delivers furnishings throughout Ireland.

“Putting the customers first will always remain a priority for us, and I think, even after 100 years, the original principles are still in place,” Peter Casey says. 

“Providing top-quality and interesting home furnishing at the best price, with best-in-class customer service, is very important to us. We also treat everyone who works at Casey’s like a big family.”

Reaching a century of service is remarkable for any enterprise, and particularly across a timeline that included the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and the many challenging economic episodes in Ireland from the 1950s onwards.

“Our company has always delivered quality products, superior support services, and the highest standards,” Mr Casey says. 

That’s a model we plan to continue into our next 100 years.

Among the initiatives planned to celebrate the centenary, Casey’s have launched a range of anniversary candles — 1921 and 2021 editions. Casey’s Furniture is also recreating old images and scenes from the early years of the company.

“For the anniversary, we are also bringing back ‘Casey the Bear’, the original bedtime bear, with all proceeds going to charity,” Mr Casey says. 

Listing key events in the company’s history, he cites its founding after the burning of Cork, but also how it weathered other upheaval down the decades.

“We were heavily impacted by the Cork flooding in the past, but were always there to help our neighbours who may have been affected,” Mr Casey says.

“We also had more recent events, like the pandemic hitting in 2020.”

Multi-generational staff

Casey’s employees are multi-generational — with many following in a parent’s footsteps.

“There are many instances of that, with one of the best examples the O’Shea family,” Mr Casey says. “Jimmy has worked for Casey’s for over 50 years and is still working here. Jimmy’s brother, Con, also worked here, as did their father, who retired after working with us for over 50 years. We have a very good management structure and there are a number of staff members who make decisions with us, so we are very lucky that way.”

In 2005, the company opened its purpose-built store in Limerick, followed, two years later, by a state-of-the-art warehouse. In 2020, the Limerick outlet was awarded Retail Excellence Ireland National Homes/Interiors store of the year.

Across a century of its operations, the company has charted and responded to changes in furniture design and in the public’s taste. “In the beginning, we used to manufacture on site, but now our furniture comes from all over the world,” Mr Casey says. “For different trends, it is closely aligned with the women’s fashion industry, with colours and textures.”

Like so many companies across Ireland, Casey’s Furniture had to adapt when Covid-19 hit in 2020.

“In the initial outbreak of the pandemic, we decided to close before the forced closure came into place,” says Mr Casey.

“It was hard, as this was the first time we had to close our doors in our 100 years of business. 

We closed as we had to keep our staff and customers safe.

Even in the midst of an event that was entirely unpredicted and traumatic, the company continued to operate, though its stores were closed. “We didn’t just close our doors and walk away: We were working constantly with our online service and answering people’s enquiries,” Mr Casey says.

“When we opened back up, it was so great to see everyone returning after such a long and hard time.”

Garden furniture was popular during the lockdown, supplemented by a steady demand for home office furniture, beds, and couches. While adapting to new circumstances, Casey’s offered a variety of retail experiences, including shopping from home via the website or virtual shopping, with a staff member to talk the customer through whatever items they were looking for.

Consideration for the environment ranks high on Casey’s Furniture’s operational ethos and is a feature of business that is becoming increasingly important with every year.

“We are living in age where we are massively trying to undo the colossal damage done to the environment,” says Mr Casey. “One of the ways that we can try to help to make a change for the better is to allow our customers the opportunities to recycle their unwanted products.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we all do our bit to try to reduce and reuse.

"The importance of sustainability is something that has only been recently introduced to many of us, but it is something which we are keen to make the most of.”

Peter Casey sees the potential for new opportunities as the second century of business for the company dawns.

“We are always looking for new opportunities for the business,” Mr Casey says, adding that Cork is on the crest of an economic wave at present: “Cork is a fantastic city. While not being too big, it is compact and, hence, has a great atmosphere.

“We have massive undeveloped sites that have so much potential, and I believe that, over the coming decades, the city will become a very different place,” Mr Casey says. “Out of all of the Irish cities, I feel Cork has the most opportunities; a great city with so much to offer.”

The centenary event starts on September 16.

Caseys