1 November 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Sandra Forde, Ray O’Leary, manager, and Vivian O’Callaghan, owner, pictured at the official launch of Tile Havens new 8,500 square foot flagship store in Little Island, Co. Cork on Thursday 29th October. Since January of this year, the Irish owned, family run company has renovated its existing 4,500 square foot Bandon showroom, opened a new shop in Ballymena, and the latest addition to the companyÃs portfolio is the flagship store in Little Island. Pic: Diane Cusack
Just before the weekend, Irish owned, family run company, Tile Haven officially launched it’s third premises, an 8,500 square foot showroom in Little Island, Co. Cork. From humble beginnings near Skibbereen, West Cork, over 15 years ago, Tile Haven has grown to become the largest independent wholesaler of tiles and timber floors in the country.
Since January of this year Tile Haven has renovated its existing 4,500 square foot Bandon showroom, opened a new shop in Ballymena, and the latest addition to the company’s portfolio is the new flagship store in Little Island.
In addition to 48 individual complete bathroom displays, the new showroom includes a living room with working stove and kitchen setting, to give customers a homely feeling as they choose tiles, flooring and bathroom ware for their own homes.
In order to make their showrooms of the highest standard, the Tile Haven team travelled the length and breadth of the country researching the most established showrooms and consulting with their owners. For their latest venture, they combined the best of what these shops had to offer to create what they believe to be the leading showrooms in the country.
At the launch, speaking about the growth of the company and the future, Vivian O’Callaghan, owner of Tile Haven said “Towards the latter end of last year we noticed a gradual upturn in the economy. The amount of new builds seemed to be growing, and the new larger developments seemed be starting up again, so things look very positive for the future for us and everyone involved. We have ambitious plans to expand year on year creating many new jobs in sales, IT, management, and social media.”
As well as their state-of-the-art showroom, Tile Haven also believes it is vital to have a unique offering of products and experience. Over the last 15 years of being in the tile business, both wholesale and retail, Tile Haven has established exclusive arrangements with the best recognised tile brands from Spain and Italy and now boasts a full range of products exclusive in Ireland, including Grespania, Peronda, Fanal, Mosavit, Panaria, Delconca, and their latest addition, Versace, which was unveiled at the launch..
Vivian concluded “We believe the combination of a leading showroom, unique product offering, expert friendly staff, and a great location leads the best overall customer experience when looking for tiles, timber flooring and bathroom ware. The increase in our business this year has been fantastic and the feedback from our customers, incredible. We look forward to the coming years with great enthusiasm and look forward to our expansion in the market place. Our aim is simple, we want our customers to enjoy the experience of shopping for tiles and timber flooring at Tile Haven. Our staff are here to help and advise on products that best suit our customers’ needs.”
Tile Haven’s new showroom is located in Eastgate Retail Park, Little Island, and is open Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 5.30pm; Thursday, 9.30am – 8pm; Saturday, 9.30am – 5pm; and Sunday, 12pm – 5pm. For more see www.tilehaven.ie.
