The Lladró collection is undoubtedly a modern example of how a small range of pieces can become something that everyone wants to be part of. With its humble beginnings starting in 1953, it has quickly become the phenomenon it is today, with its sales helping businesses grow in more than 120 countries worldwide. One of these companies is Church’s China, which after the war years appreciated the Lladró collection as a large part of its commercial business.
As the end of the 19th century approached, the business progressed quietly and smoothly. This was so often the way in those days. The pace of change was much slower than it is now, so slow in fact that the entire concept of change was almost unknown. Never would a company like Church’s have taken on product ranges as radically new as Lladró, at least not without months of agony.
Wilfrid Church was the grandson of the company’s founder and grandfather of the current CEO, Stephen Church. Of the few activities that stood out in Wilfrid’s mind was the annual ‘packing’ at Castle Ashby. He remembers one such occasion when, as a nine-year-old boy, he accompanied his father to the manor house.
“At a certain time of year the Marquess of Northampton visited Exmoor on a deer-hunting expedition, taking with him quite a large retinue. At these times my father was due to visit Castle Ashby to pack china and glass for safety. I remember joined at lunch by the host of servants and general staff, the baker, the butler, the housekeeper, and the coachman, led through a snow-covered park to view Knuckle Bone Arbour, a bower or retreat, the ground of which It was covered in deer knuckle bones.”
At the turn of the century, the Church family was devastated to learn that their store was to be demolished to make way for a modern development known as ‘The Arcade Emporium’. All of the store’s stock and fixtures had to be hauled around the corner to the new facility. In those days, long before the development of product ranges like XXXXXXXXXX, with their sophisticated packaging and packaging, everything had to be packed into straw-filled tea crates before it could be moved safely. The business moved to No.7 Sheep Street. In those days, like today, position was the most important thing, and located on the wrong side of a busy and dangerous street, commerce suffered. Perhaps the bargains offered in the advertisements were indications of the difficult times of the time.
Wilfrid Church, now a young businessman in his twenties, was eager to revive the fortunes of the family business and arranged for a return to Market Square. On June 26, 1911, Church’s China returned to its original position in Northampton’s Market Square, this time opposite a splendid new shopping arcade.
A contemporary description accompanying a watercolor reads: “The building stretches more than 300 feet from front to back and contains more than 50 stores, several office suites, a gym, several meeting rooms, a basement cafeteria, a restaurant accessed directly from Market Square, a hairdressing salon and public toilets. The building is lit with electricity. The entrance arch is decorated with white, green and purple Doulton tiles.”
For more than sixty years, Church’s China occupied the front of the Emporium Arcade. During this period, trade, while unexciting, was enough to support the Church family comfortably. In those days, the basic ‘diet’ of business revolved around bone china dinner and tea services. Brands like Lladró had not even been considered.
Taking on the Lladró collection may have been an important decision for the company, but it has paid them back tenfold. This is how Lladró seems to be. Both old and new businesses have prospered from the sale of the Lladró collection, and this is a testament to the creators of this magnificent range of pieces.