The year was 1926, Gene Austin’s Bye Bye Blackbird was number one in the charts, Spearfelt won the Melbourne Cup and King George V sat on the throne while Queen Elizabeth II had just been born. It was also they year that Lynnwood Lawrence Gill registered the trading name of Gill & Co, and one of Queensland’s most respected family businesses was born. Almost 100 years later, Lynwood’s grandson David Gill owns and manages the thriving Gill & Co, holding true to the businesses founding principal of specialist advice at a competitive price.
Gill & Co owner, David said that while locations and the industry itself had changed over the years, he has always welcomed the challenge of adapting to accommodate those changes. “While our focus has always been on timber, we understand that a lot of customers are looking for that ‘one stop shop’ experience so we have certainly started to branch out to include more products and provide better service that people are looking really for,” he said.
David said their current site on Bloomfield Street in Cleveland has been perfect to help manage the changes as well. “We often struggled with flooding at Rocklea and the space we had wouldn’t allow us to develop how we wanted. The Cleveland store is great because we have a lot of space in the yard where people can just drive up and access everything they want without having to walk around looking for products or help and wasting valuable time,” he said.
The business has long been a part of the landscape in south-eastern Queensland, and with the improvements it is making including updated product holding and systems such as stock control, it will continue to be well into the future.
This advertising feature is sponsored by the following business. Click the link to find out more.
Not just limited to space outdoors, the extra room indoors has also proven beneficial for both the business and their customers. David said the generous shed has allowed Gill & Co to stock a wider range of products to continue their ‘one stop shop’ approach, while the ability for customers to drive through the shed and load up quickly and easily has certainly had customers coming back for more. “It’s a great space in terms of storage, display and accessibility. The changes have allowed us to grow the business and the staff with over 15 local and extremely knowledgeable people now employed”.
Local employment is also something that David and his wife Rebecca have focused heavily on. “We know exactly how important it is for the community to have strong employment and opportunities for people. We are in a position where we can provide jobs but also other local support including helping the Indigenous community on Stradbroke Island,” David said.