Age: Unknown
'Foolish' Idea: To sell carpet from a warehouse.
Start-up Capital: £8000
How Idea was Launched:
The three founders used to work in a shop called Grants Furnishings which closed down leaving them unemployed.
They renovated what used to be a Ford showroom and on May 1 1986 they got £8000 together and used it to buy stock for the new small business called Carpet World. For the first week they sold nothing, but then business picked up well.
They put their success down to the loyalty of their customers and staff. Some customers have been coming back for 20 years and some staff members have been on the payroll for 17, 18 and 19 years. The customers have grown to expect good service, good prices and good after sales service.
For readers who are not easily impressed, try this. This small business was started in Stornaway, a town in the Western Isles of Scotland with a population of around 25000. Stornaway is about 50 miles (80 kilometres) from the mainland of Scotland.
Their great success has enabled them to open other stores, namely Furniture World and Carpet World Warehouse and Interior World.