We are proud to announce that our family business Steel City Marketing turns 40 years old this August. Back in 1980, little did we know what was ahead of us as a company. We have navigated through the highs and lows and are pleased that we still remain a trusted and well respected promotional products distributor.
To celebrate the milestone, as well as a charity challenge we are planning to start on 1st September (details to follow!) we have put together a time line with key company events:
Our Story…
Our family business started in 1980 by MD James Biggin’s father and business partner selling Sheffield-made gifts and quickly adding other product ranges in as demands changed. John and Peter ran the business for more than 20 years.
James came on board in the early 2000’s first learning the ropes in sales, then becoming a director in 2004. He describes himself as geekily obsessed with the company, pens and seeing how excited clients get when he gets some great ideas in front of them to use in their marketing campaigns.
James’s father retired just as the last recession started in 2007. Our company, like many, suffered in cash flow and profitability up to 2012. James made a host of changes and turned the business around. Sales steadied from that point and we experienced sustainable growth.
After being in the same building since 1980, in 2015 we moved into a renovated former print house on New Street in Sheffield city centre. James designed the space so that it reflected our growing team, with a New York Loft style which allowed for more collaborative working. Being experts in promotional merchandise, we also took our own advice and looked to image branding experts to re-brand the company with a more contemporary look and feel.
“The changes I made have made a massive difference to the business, allowing us to look further forward. We have placed a big emphasis on our culture and worked closely on our values as a team. Graduating from the Goldman Sachs 10K small business programme in 2018 along with a cohort of incredible people, helped me to gain perspective and really invest my time wisely into honing the company ethos.” comments James.
The sheer choice of promotional items now is enormous, but we still hold the same Sheffield values that the company started with, 40 years on!
