Andrew Gossage's plan was never to stay at Ultimate Products for more than two to three years.
When he joined as finance director in 2005, he could never have imagined still being there 16 years later and the impact the business would have on him.
Now managing director, Mr Gossage’s story winds from becoming a parent at 17, heading off to the University of Cambridge, training at accountancy giant Arthur Andersen before joining what was then called Mersey TV and then moving on to the Oldham-based firm.
In an exclusive interview with BusinessLive, Mr Gossage lifts the lid on his road to success, how Ultimate Products has been transformed over the last decade and a half and its community-centric response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The jump from being finance director and general manager at the studio behind the likes of Hollyoaks and Grange Hill, now called Lime Pictures, to a firm in Oldham which sells household goods has been described as an “interesting switch” by Mr Gossage.
First coming across them during his time at Arthur Andersen where he worked from 1992 to 1998, Mr Gossage left before the US-headquartered accountancy giant collapsed a few years later.
Joining his "favourite client", he stuck around until investment giant LDC sold its stake in the business in 2005.
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"I was very kindly asked to stay but I decided to move on at that point."
Just five weeks later he found himself at Ultimate Products as LDC were in talks to make a major investment.
The firm, which had been established in 1997 by Simon Showman and Barry Franks, owns, manages, designs and develops a range of consumer goods brands.
It now has a 20,000 sq ft showroom at Manor Mill, the head office, as well as an office and showroom in Guangzhou, China, and a new European showroom in Cologne, Germany.
Employing over 300 staff, it sells to more than 300 retailers across 37 countries and its brands include Beldray, Intempo, Progress and Kleeneze and it also has a license to sell Russell Hobbs and Salter products.
Back then though it was still a private company, its IPO was still some 12 years away.
Mr Gossage said there were a few reasons as to why he stayed including the financial crisis of 2008 which took the "wind out of the sales of private equity" and that he fell in love with the business.
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"It’s become part of who I am. I went from being a hired gun to the business being a part of me.
"The business has transformed beyond recognition in terms of scale, and size and the way that we go about doing business.
"I feel that I have had my part to play in that.
"It’s quite rare for any senior executive to stay with a business for 16 years, apart from founders.
"I’m very fortunate to work with tremendous people. Simon Showman has helped me achieve my potential. It’s been a hell of a ride. There has been no lack of stimulation.”
The financial crisis of 2008 left its mark on the firm’s top brass and inadvertently prepared them for the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The financial crisis meant that we had to think quite differently about the business. What it taught me was that bad things happen in business.
"It gave us both scars and matured us as business people
"It also taught me that economic cycles do exist, despite what Gordon Brown said
"It also taught me humility and to be more cautious
"That meant that we were in a very good position going into Covid as we had a strong balance sheet.”
The last 15 months have certainly been incredibly challenging for every business but even while the height of the pandemic was raging, Ultimate Products turned to its community to lend a helping hand.
"Oldham is a great town and a great place to be based as a business but it can’t be denied that, relatively, it is a deprived area.
"We thought about what we could do to help the community around us.
"If you can’t do that during the worst crisis since the Second World War then when can you?
"I’m really proud of the work we did, including during those really dark times in April and May when the local food bank ran out of baby milk.
"We helped them with that and also supported young carers in Oldham with the Positive Steps charity by buying and distributing more than 150 tablets so they could keep being connected as it’s very isolating even in normal times.
"We also helped domestic abuse victims with home starter packs.
"Ten years ago we were not very good at it and we were just a business which happened to be based in Oldham.
"We decided about five or six years ago that that wasn’t good enough and we started to make the connections which we then used during the crisis
"Covid has accelerated our links with the community as well."
The business has also repaid £500,000 in furlough money which it had secured from the Government.
"It was the right thing to do to repay it and we wanted to hold our heads up high", Mr Gossage said.
"What was great was the reaction from the staff. They felt proud to work for a company which acted in this way."
With what seems to be the worst of the pandemic behind the county, eyes now turn to the future.
The company has been bouncing back successfully in recent months, increasing its revenue and pre-tax profits during the first half of its financial year, new figures revealed in April.
UP Global Sourcing Holdings reported a revenue of £75.3m for the six months to January 31, 2021, up from £67.6m during the same period in the prior year.
The group's pre-tax profits also increased from £6.1m to £7.1m.
It also purchased Petra, a Germany electrical kitchen brand, in February 2021.
Mr Gossage said: "Our strategy has shown its worth over the last 18 months. We are very resilient.
"I’m expecting us to return to a pathway of growth and to continue to execute our strategy successfully.
"We want to aim for the 500 million or so potential customers on the continent, grow our business with supermarkets and online."