Our Past

C & Fabrics Ltd was started on 1st April 1933 by C.W. Hamblin and Mr H. Closs. The early shops were small affairs by our present standards, and although they sold only dress fabrics, they did the job well. There were a great variety of fabrics at keen prices, and, combined with first-class customer service, the business prospered. By the time the 2^nd World War began in 1939, the company had already grown to six shops. However, the following years were to be tough for everybody, including C&H. Bombs blew out shop windows, which could not be replaced, and stock could seldom be bought. Few could buy, because of rationing, and staffing was reduced from around 200 personnel to fewer than 20, as people left to join the armed forces or work in munitions factories.

Barry Hamblin, the current Company President and son of C.W Hamblin, had joined C & H in 1938, but most of his first seven years were spent flying Spitfires over Europe and Northern Africa. His younger brother Keith Hamblin joined the company after the Services in 1948, and together they directed the company through the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.

After The War, a slow, steady rebuilding of the company took place with the brothers at the helm. A substantial achievement of this period was the freehold purchase of prime high-street sites in Tunbridge Wells, Guildford, and Eastbourne, and a Head Office in Tunbridge Wells. These were the asset base for the present company. New stores were opened in Tunbridge Wells, Guildford, Bromley, Eastbourne, Brighton and Maidstone to supplement those in Ilford, Watford, Kilburn, Lewisham, and Croydon, and Barry’s two sons, Bryce and Bryan Hamblin, also joined the company during the 1970’s.

The next major stage of development came with the decision to expand to two new product centres. These required the establishment of three central buying teams, Dress Fabrics, Haberdashery, Crafts, and Yarns, and Furnishing Fabrics and related products.

As with Dress Fabrics, C & H set out to become the main specialist in each of these product areas. This was accomplished by...

• Having a broad range of stocks in store
• Knowledgeable staff
• Good display and presentation
• The introduction of services to support the products
• Teams of Curtain Makers, Fitters, Measurers, to make quality curtains to high technical standards

The development of the product range required bigger units. New stores were opened in Ilford, Brighton, Canterbury, Eastbourne, and Winchester. The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells stores were respectively doubled and tripled in square footage. The customers in the 1970’s and 1980’s wanted substantial specialist stores. It was in these units of up to 22,000 sq.ft. that C & H could begin to dominate the towns in the south east. The older, former, 2,000 sq.ft. units in the London suburbs were in turn exchanged for large, prime sites in County Towns. 

With the increase in store size came a greater sophistication and development of the head office team. A personnel team, headed by Mr. Bryce Hamblin, moved the company substantially forward through the development of a Company Manual. This set out the agreed operating standards, and a highly committed approach to training. Computers were purchased for a major bought ledger operation, an automated personnel system and for the production of artwork for ticketing and advertising. By the mid 1990’s the company could boast around 400 members of staff.

In 1995 an Electronic Purchase Order System was introduced between the stores and the buying offices, and by mid 1996 all stores were ‘live’ on the system. A large percentage of our stock is now replenished electronically by this method. The family involvement continued after the new millennium as Bryan’s sons James and Tom Hamblin joined the company. After time spent learning the company and on the shop floor, James now heads up the Personnel side of the business and Tom is responsible for the buying of our furnishing products. In time Bryce Hamblin decided to take a backseat and Bryan’s third son Roddy joined the business. At this point Bryan took on the chairmanship of the company.

Our Future

With a commitment to the values laid down by C.W. Hamblin and his descendants, the company continues to trade profitably as a family run business. Our focus is still on exceptional customer service and we believe we are a high street leader in this area. Our stores still contain a diverse and unique product range to cater for an ever increasing customer demographic and we are still highly committed to expanding geographically to take our company to a wider audience over the next decade. A rebranding took place in 2006 to reflect the broader base of products – ‘more than just fabrics’. Fashion and gift ranges are now important product departments for the company’s turnover.

The Coffee Shops in several of our stores, which had been run by outside caterers have been taken over by C&H. The Coffee Shops, like the stores, pride themselves on range and service – we have developed our own range of Homebakes to provide a unique experience to shoppers with food prepared from fresh ingredients, on site each day and offer good quality cups of tea and coffee to compete with any High Street competitor.

Our trade is heavily labour intensive, and the strength of the Company lies in its staff; in their attitudes, specialist knowledge, and commitment. A retail company is judged daily by customers on how well every member, in every store, performs. We are certainly fortunate that so many who join the Company, stay for so long. This new transactional website www.candh.co.uk provides online shopping for customers across the U.K. with the same principles as the stores – a wide range of product, and excellent service. We hope you enjoy browsing and will come back and visit us again.