Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Cookshop owner Michael Griffiths has retired in early June after 40 years in the housewares industry, on both the supply and retail sides.
The owner and partner of Salamander Cookshop at Wimborne in Dorset has sold the business to D&I Retail.
Michael said: “I wish [new owners] David and Ione Crossley all the very best with their acquisition. Already I can see that they will continue to bring fresh and stimulating ideas to the retail housewares trade.”
Michael’s first job in housewares was as a product manager for Sunbeam Electric. He joined in 1979, working on food preparation and clothes care. He then moved to Prestige and was responsible for pressure cookers, later taking on cookware and electrics as marketing manager, then new business, and finally marketing director.
Michael then took the job of managing director with Poole Pottery. Eventually he went back into marketing, with Le Creuset, finishing up as product development director.
His late wife Diana set up Salamander in 1993 and he left Le Creuset to help – and stayed for the next 26 years. “I never lost sight of the aim of making products that customers liked and would buy, and I think this philosophy held good for Salamander,” he said.
David added: “I would like to thank all the wonderful people in the industry past and present who have helped me and Diana over a lifetime of enjoyable, engaging, taxing, challenging, annoying and stimulating times.”
Michael celebrated his retirement with seven staff from the Wimborne store, at the Harbour Heights Hotel in the Dorset town of Poole on June 2
