When Geoff Wood established an office interiors company called Design Sales in 1965 it was only the second operation of its kind in Perth.
When Geoff Wood established an office interiors company called Design Sales in 1965 it was only the second operation of its kind in Perth.
More than four decades later, and with the business now known as InSite, Mr Wood said Perth had undergone substantial maturation, and had transformed physically and culturally.
“Perth developed very differently to the eastern seaboard, and was very light on designers when we started – we literally knocked on doors to get business,” said Mr Wood, who remains as a director with the company.
“Then the mining boom took off in the late 1960s, with the big mining towns and companies taking off, and we extended our services.
“To complement the demand for new office environments, we offered a project management service with design expertise and included things such as partitioning, air-conditioning, data and electrical services.”
Mr Wood said the project management model has been maintained, and worked well for InSite’s clients.
“We now can provide everything, including furniture, screen systems, workstations, IT and comms, removalists and security,” he said.
“About 15 years ago we took the design studio out of the Design Sales company, and that became Blake Thornton Smith, one of Perth’s most prominent designers.
“Bigger companies use designers, but middle to smaller ones tend to want packages, and those companies are our target demographic.”
InSite’s client list crosses many industries, and Mr Wood said return business was a large part of turnover.
InSite executive director Ron Bullen said that although the company had been around for more than 40 years, longevity itself was not so much the achievement as was the ability to constantly re-invent and move with the market.
“We constantly look for new things and try to keep a vitality in the organisation,” he said.
“Clients come to us and we help them determine what space they want to be in and what image they want to present.
“We look at how people would like to do business, how they are changing, and the personality of the company.”
Mr Bullen said a key to InSite’s success was its capacity to relate to people who don’t necessarily understand design.
“We usually deal with a company’s accountant who doesn’t understand colour or image, but is very concerned with cost,” he told WA Business News.
“Where we are successful is that our senior staff have all run and been involved with our own businesses, and know that if you are spending money you want to get something back for it.
“We can do designer talk, but also business talk.
“At the end of the day people’s businesses make money and the fit-out is the means to an end, and you can’t get too precious about design.”
InSite project manager Murray Simcock said the project management model provided for a more economical solution, and resulted in wins for the wholesalers, clients and suppliers.
“We don’t charge a design fee on top of our normal fee, it is part of the running cost on a job, not sold at a high retail rate,” he said.
“It is an outcome-based solution – clients are aware of the costs right from the beginning.”
