Name: Izzy Redman

Job Role: Office Manager

Department: Broughty Ferry Store

Years at Gillies: 22 Years

Q. What aspect of your role do you enjoy most?
A. New office employees starting out in their first job, seeing them progress and move onto other jobs within Gillies.

Q. If you could summarise Gillies as a workplace in three words, what would they be?
A. Progressive, Professional, Reputable

Q. How approachable to you feel management and directors are within Gillies?
A. Gillies have an open door policy, management and directors are always very approachable.

Name: Simon Bassett

Job Role: Goods Out Porter

Department: Distribution Centre

Years at Gillies: 9 Years

Q. Can you tell us a typical week in your role?
A. Off loading goods from containers and pallets, quality control and checking the goods then organising them into the relevant bays. This includes a lot of logistical preparation and heavy lifting which includes relying on team work.

Q. What advice would you give to someone thinking of applying to work at Gillies?
A. I would definitely recommend applying if like me you’re looking for a career with great working hours especially now that I have a young family.

Q. If you could summarise Gillies as a workplace in three words, what would they be?
A. Happy, Welcoming, Enjoyable.

Name: Steve Downie

Job Role: General Store Manager

Department: Aberdeen Store

Years at Gillies: 8 Years

Q. How did you come about working at Gillies?
A.I’d been aware of the company for a number of years having spent over a decade in the industry previously, when I saw a position advertised in bed sales. I applied and was offered an interview, during which it was clear very early on that Gillies was the sort of company I would enjoy being part of. I was offered the job and accepted immediately!

Q. How has your role developed over time?
A. I started in bed sales where I worked well for a few years. The company directors were aware that I’d had management experience in the past, so when the opportunity arose, I was offered promotion to GSM. That was of course a big change with a lot of challenges along the way, but one I have enjoyed for the past 3 years.

Q. What aspect of your role do you enjoy most?
A. I enjoy putting in the effort to developing people and seeing that coming to fruition over time.  But most of all, I would say I enjoy seeing satisfaction, whether that be from another happy customer or a member of the team at the end of a job well done!

Name: Amy Fleming

Job Role: Customer Service Advisor

Department: Customer Service

Years at Gillies: 7 Years

Q. How did you start working at Gillies?
A. My Mum and Aunty saw an advertisement in the Broughty Ferry shop window.

Q. How has your role developed over time?
A. I started as the Office Junior then an Admin Assistant in the delivery department. Now I am a Customer Care Advisor.

Q. What do you love about working for Gillies?
A. I love being helpful and getting the best resolution for the customer.

Name:  Kevin McGregor

Job Role: Area Furniture Sales and Operatons Manager

Department: Furniture

Years at Gillies: 21 Years

Q. How did you start working at Gillies?
A. Pure luck! I had a friend who worked at Gillies and I asked him to put my CV forward to the warehouse manager. I was looking for a Monday to Friday job after working shifts for the previous 6 years and this role appealed to me for that reason. I interviewed for the position and was offered the role.

Q. How has your role developed over time?
A. I think I have had one of the most varied roles during my time with Gillies. After joining the company in 2002 as a porter in our Furniture Warehouse, I moved into Sales on the Bed Floor in Broughty Ferry for a spell. Due to company expansion, I was promoted firstly to Assistant Manager then to General Store Manager in 2007, within our Perth branch.

After a period of time, I was offered the role of Distribution Centre General Manager, within our new extended warehousing facilities back in Dundee, and spent the next 8 years here. From there I moved to take up the position of Head Office GSM in January 2016. An opportunity in Inverness quickly followed at the end of 2016 and, after a year here, I took up the position of GSM in the Aberdeen branch. Again, I was to move back to the Perth branch in 2019, just before Covid hit the country, and stayed in Perth until my current appointment in June 2022.

At that point Grampian Furnishers was added to the Gillies family and I spent the next 3 months assisting with this new project. Since then, I have been out and about the different branches and warehouses carrying out my new role as Area Furniture Sales and Operations Manager.

Q. Do you have any highlights from your career with Gillies?
A. In 2016, when the Board added the Inverness branch to the Gillies family, I was given the opportunity to head up a new venture for the company. This meant relocating to the Highlands for 12 months whilst we set up our new store, refurbishing it completely so that it matched the standards of our other stores, training existing staff, introducing new systems and welcoming old and new customers alike into our new store once we opened. At the same time, I was also responsible for the setting up of the distribution and clearance facilities out at Dingwall.  

To be trusted with this project at such a crucial early stage was a huge privilege and I thoroughly enjoyed both the responsibility and the experience.

Name: Ruaridh Cruickshank

Job Role: Sales Associate

Department: Perth Store

Years at Gillies: 6 Years

Q. How has your role developed over time?
A. It has developed with having a great support from Directors and management who has given me confidence and great training to help me become confident in my role.

Q. Do you have any highlights from your career with Gillies?
A. Had some amazing adventures over my years here, inlcuding a trip to Germany for Venjakob training and a trip to Norway for stressless training; both were amazing experiences.

Q. How approachable to you feel management and directors are within Gillies?
A. My store manager in Perth has been a great support to me and the directors are also always there to help and support and I have never felt uncomfortable to approach.

Name: Senga Comrie

Job Role: Flooring Department Manager

Department: Perth Store

Years at Gillies: 4 Years

Q. Do you have any highlights from your career with Gillies?
A. I have had the opportunity to accompany the businesses Managing Director on a trip to the Harrogate flooring show – this buying trip involves browsing for new and exciting products in the flooring industry and learning about the technical aspects of our offering which I can then take back to my team.

Q. What do you love about working for Gillies?
A. I love that each day can be different, and I have a great team and all of the staff I work with are great. I also love assisting the customers, as an independent retailer we get a lot of loyal and returning customers who you get to know really well and it’s a great part of my job being able to help them.

Q. How approachable to you feel management and directors are within Gillies?
A. Very – I’m even often asked for personal opinion with some aspects of the business which I find to be a very hands-on approach from the company’s directors and my fellow management.

Name: Dominic Kelly

Job Role: E-Commerce Manager

Department: IT, Broughty Ferry Store

Years at Gillies: 5 Years

Q. How did you come about working at Gillies?
A. I had been working as a Project Manager at a Digital Agency managing multiple web-based projects at any given time which had become very monotonous. I have lived in Dundee my whole life and have always known of the Gillies store in Broughty Ferry. When I saw the job advert for E-Commerce manager, I thought it was a great opportunity to move to a well-known and long serving company and help develop the e-commerce side of the business.

Q. Can you tell us a typical week in your role?
A. A typical week involves processing orders placed through the website, keeping customers updated with the progress of their orders, speaking to customers over the web chat, liaising with buyers to ensure new ranges are on the team’s radar for being added to the website, contacting suppliers to obtain information about ranges, liaising with sales teams at all Gillies stores to keep the clearance section of the website up to date.

Q. Do you enjoying working in your team?
A. I really enjoy working in my team. Our office environment is very friendly which makes coming into work each day very enjoyable.