an interview with Marco Galea; Managing Director, Oxford House
A third-generational legacy business venture, Oxford House has grown from strength to strength.
Design & Build caught up with Marco Galea, Oxford House’s Managing Director. Leading a team of over 70 employees, Mr Galea spoke of the origins of his company and how it survived and thrived notwithstanding the changing vicissitudes of Malta’s economy. His meticulous planning and shrewd strategy become evident during this interview .
What’s in a name? Well, if Shakespeare could ask that question,
Design & Build could do no less when we spoke to Marco Galea, Managing Director of Oxford House. He smiled, and his eyes took on the look of another era.
The business’ beginnings are a haberdashery shop in St John Street in Valletta, opened by Marco’s Great Grandmother Rosaria Galea in 1928.
The business quickly evolved into manufacture. “My grandfather had started this with the manufacture and repair of prams for babies.” In 1938, he had visited London’s famous retail district of Oxford Street; Europe’s busiest shopping street.This tickled Mr Galea’s grandfather to the extent that he had then branded his steadily-growing business to ‘Oxford Trading’. And in the 50’s, ‘Oxford House’ thus emerged.
Mr Galea recalls that his grandfather had lost his sight when he was in his late thirties and his son, Mr Galea’s father, had to step in at the age of 16. “You can imagine how difficult this was for the family. My father, a student at St Aloysius College, had to help out in the business as he was the eldest of five siblings,” Mr Galea said.
” the quality of their product was well known; their work sought after”
The company moved in 1950 from Valletta to Naxxar Road, Birkirkara and commenced the manufacture of kitchen tables and chairs.
After having firmly consolidated its market presence, Oxford House branched off into producing these lines for various other sectors.
“Oxford House was also very well known for school tables and chairs as well as the chairs in churches – the famous blue metal tag was everywhere,” smiled Mr Galea. He added that the product was manufactured from start to finish by the company and the quality of their product was well known; their work sought after.
The company subsequently needed to upgrade its premises and moved in 1969 to Mdina Road, Mriehel; to what is named today as the
Central Business District in Birkirkara. Oxford House thus commended the manufacture of furniture, desks and chairs for offices and restaurants.
Expansion
When the business bug bites, however, it goes straight to the genes. While only just married in 1969, Marco’s father had visited Milan’s trade fair, and subsequently, Italian firms of his choice, “and that’s when we had branched out into importing appliances,” said Mr Galea.
photo: Bosch appliances’ control: unified via wireless to your phone
Prestigious names such as Bosch, Glemgas, Vestfrost, Faber, Foster and Lagostina were added to their portfolio along the years. Since then, Oxford House has become synonymous with appliances of quality. Mr Galea said that this expansion helped the company establish a top-notch service department.
As the years rolled by, Oxford House developed a solid reputation for quality products and timely delivery. Mr Galea said that the next major hurdle was Malta’s entry into the European Union. “Obviously a big decision had to be taken there in the late 90s. The company was restructured and it was brought up to scratch from an IT perspective. Then there was the decision to either start exporting our products or to focus more on importation,” observed Mr Galea.
photo: the RIVA 840 classic Nobilia Kitchen
The shift was a radical one. From a company working within the confines of a protected market, Oxford House took the plunge to manage life in a freely competitive market, a quantum shift in its business model. Mr Galea said that this was done before Malta’s accession to the EU: the manufacture side was downscaled and the importation side was increased on the basis of exclusive representation.
“As the years rolled by, Oxford House developed a solid reputation for quality products and timely delivery”
Describing it as his baptism of fire, Mr Galea recalled how, at the time, he was researching and advising his parents on the way forward for the company when he was just a university student and working part time with the family. The focus on researched decisions however, remained a trait of Oxford House.
Leaps and bounds
“The next major milestone was 2003 when we started importing kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms: all residential furniture elements – and the B2B section for office furniture,” said Mr Galea. A major brand in this area was the German Nobilia. This massive company manufactures thousands of kitchens every day and Oxford House, while small in comparison, is highly respected by them because of their commitment to a top-quality business ethic.
Wiemann is another top-end name in bedrooms which is intimately associated with Oxford House as is Steelcase in the area of office furniture. “We are very much linked to the German brands,” said Mr Galea.
He praised the German work ethic for its precision and reliability which makes them easy to work with. Oxford House also works with well-known Italian brands whose designs, as Mr Galea described, wonderfully complement the German technology. Names like Guzzini e Fontana, Pedrali, La Primavera, Las Mobili and Dorelan are but a few of these major players in the market. Some of these are not simply exclusive imports: they are also franchises. One such is Dorelan. This brand was originally an unknown in Malta and Oxford House gradually built its reputation to the extent that now it is housed in its own separate building.
“Oxford House does not simply seek to populate a space with furniture”
Mr Galea said that it was quite a challenge but the numbers are now paying off. “We cater for a range of needs: from the normal office outfit to the more executive top-end furniture such as LAS Mobili. At Oxford House we can also cater for all office needs and budgets,” he proudly explained. This also means that this firm can work well on projects which may cater for a gamut of needs.
New pastures
In 2018, which Mr Galea described as a very important year, he led further company restructuring whilst consolidating the company ownership. The structure became more vertical and the reporting lines more well-defined. So, while retaining the company in the family hands, by 2018, all but Mr Galea had effectively bowed out of the business. In this restructuring, Mr Galea explained, the B2B section incorporated a unique modus operandi which caters for that sector with efficiency and speed. This is mainly because the section also employs technical personnel necessary to get the job done: from project manager to architect, they see that the needs of the company which has contracted them are speedily, precisely, and economically met; without compromising on the aesthetics, and the simultaneous practicality and beauty of design.
“Offices are now all about concepts: sound management in open-plan environments, creating a pleasant and efficient ambiance”
Marco Galea
“The key is having a team with good people,” said Mr Galea who prides himself in keeping an open communication and team approach to management.
“Oxford House also works with well-known Italian brands whose designs complement their German counterparts”
“It has all been marvellously tough,” smiled Mr Galea adding a great note of appreciation for the vision and perspective of his father and uncle who have since retired. This restructuring involved re-branding and re-furbishing as well as enlarging the property of the showroom. Mr Galea pointed out that the expansion is retaining the parking facilities; a must-have in today’s grid-locked roads with their customer ethics.
Changing concepts
Discussing the needs of the B2B market, Mr Galea said that things in this sector have changed radically. “Today the desks is not at the highest point of one’s typical agenda,” he observed. “Offices are now all about concepts: sound management in open-plan environments, creating a pleasant and efficient ambiance; often including elements such as workcafés.” Mr Galea said that the department has been renamed as ‘Office Solutions’ rather than ‘Office Furniture’ since Oxford House does not simply seek to populate a space with furniture.
This forward looking stance is also mirrored in the way Mr Galea spoke of Dorelan, a company which he described as prestigious and which is now also expanding further and consolidating its presence in Malta. The experience when shopping for a bed and mattress of this brand is definitely innovative in Malta in that the customer is allowed to experience the product.
Mr Galea informed us that the range of products is vast, with every Dorelan Mattress being available in soft, medium and firm varieties. He explained that should a double bed mattress, for example, require two different types of resistance, this too is possible thanks to the manufacturing company’s sheer technological and technical competence.
This is evidenced too in the type of twin springs which the mattresses employ. “We have also been awarded exclusivity for the supply of mattresses for the hospitality sector; a separate section from the showroom business, and this is doing very well in spite of, or perhaps thanks to the impact of Covid,” said Mr Galea with pride.
Always prepared
Product availability and operational smoothness at Oxford House is typically enviously high. This is also due to the large volumes of stock the company; supported by over 3,000 sqm of warehouse space, can handle.
Their IT infrastructure enables Oxford House in meeting their stock control, and delivery exigencies; thus order accordingly and in time to meet the customers’ requirements.
“The products and brands presented at Oxford House suit the discerning developer who wishes to economise in providing a quality, finished product”
“We are constantly aware of our stock requirements, and our systems help us greatly to always keep our warehouses stocked with the required items and units. In so doing, downtime for our clients is further reduced.
Even on items such as kitchens which disallow the keeping of stock due to their customer-specific nature, delivery times are strict and typical of German standards.
“We are not impervious to current circumstances,” Marco tells us. Supply of components, and international shipping delays and issues affect this company as all others. “Our efficiency and dedication to customer satisfaction have kept things going as smoothly as possible, notwithstanding the external disruptions which are severely affecting all market players,” he candidly explains.
Conclusion
It is evident at first glance that the company’s expression “Think Quality, Get Comfort. Live Luxury” is not a mere tagline but is the actual philosophy deeply ingrained in, and thus derived from the Oxford House heritage, culture and values. The products and brands presented at Oxford House suit the discerning developer who wishes to economise in providing a quality, finished product, as much as they do those who must provide differentiating factors to their offered properties.
Oxford House is equally suited to the property owner who insists on quality brands which will last for years on end whilst maintaining their technical and aesthetic advantages over the industry. This company’s sheer level of dedication to customers, in terms of relations, operational efficiency, no-nonsense stance on coverage of warranty, and quality and efficiency of their world-lead-ing brands is second to none.
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