■*■ 4- v.o it> +


ADVERTISING feature GREAT oaks from little ‘p c& ttea ONE OF THE “BESTS£U£»S"FR0M OUR IN SOLID OAK AND DRALON


CONTINENTAL RANGE BYVELDA lb s p


Silt ON THIS RANGE o ? 5


THE SUITE CENTRE OF THE NORTH


SELLING FURNITURE IS ONE THING...


MO VING FURNITURE IS ANOTHER...


PRESTONS of ACCRINGTON SELL THE B E S T ...


I MAKE SURE IT GETS DELIVERED SAFELY


C. BUTCHER


, LIGHT H A U L IE R S


CARPET FITTING


ft F I T-EXCL U S IV ELY FOR THEM AND AM PROUD TO DO SO.


*bf ACCRINGTON Sell top quality Axminster and other various carpets


PRESTONS All work guaranteed J.PENDLEBURY sewn.


PENDLEBURY’S CARPET CARE Refits a s p e c ia lity a n d a ll Joints h a n d


^ Jf- ->v. ; Ip


THE SHOWROOMS OF PRESTONS OF ACCRINGTON ow and


A housewife’s dream


of the North,” began in Accrington 13 years ago.


Preston Salerooms,


which is now changing its name to Prestons of Accrington, to be more in line with its current


Preston 16 years ago It was started by Mr Bill


Showroom, is called “The Ambassador” and comes in


beige coloured Dralon at


£995. Another good seller,


image, began life as a ta^jg^The Picasso”and is small auction room m f^ ra lo n . “But we give a substantial discount ” said Mr Margerison.


Margerison and is still, despite its expansion over the years, very much a family concern. Mr Margerison took


over a derelict Methodist Chapel in Richmond Road, Accrington, to sell mainly to the lower end of the furniture trade. Over the years the


demand has changed, so much so that now he finds his customers are demand­ ing “better quality mer­


chandise.” STOCKED


“People tend to_ buy a


SUBSTANTIAL DISCOUNTS OFFERED ____


suite now as an_ invest­ me n t , ” he said, and pointed out that his own hide sui t e, which he bought nine years ago, today could be sold for more than he paid for it. The company has close


links with the largest pri­ vate wholesaling company in the country, B and M Furniture Trade Surplus Ltd at Oswaldtwi st le, where Prestons’ buyer has the choice of the 3,000 lounge suites in stock. About 90 sui tes are


stocked at any one time at Accrington and range from Chesterfield suites in real hide, made by Br i t i sh craftsmen, at £659, to as low as £199. The most expensive


sui te in stock at the moment costs £1,250 and is a 10 cushioned suite in Dralon velour wi th a figured flower pattern. Recently, the company


has started stocking suites from the Continent, which f r e q u e n t l y f e a t u r e polished arms and sur­


rounds. A Belgian one,"at pre­ sent in’ the Accrington


delivers The company delivers


suites the length and breadth of the country, particularly their top qual­ ity Dralon and hide suites. “We delivered one last week to Slough in Buckin­ ghamshire to someone who has been in the area and seen our advertisement,”


said Mr Margerison. “We have the highest


turnover per week in fur­ niture in this area, but we still consider ourselves to be a small firm,” he added. The entire operation in Accrington is run by two


people, Mr Geoffrey Ash­ worth, manager, and Mrs Kim Kerr igan, man­


ageress. With only two people


involved, it helps maintain the personal touch and if there are any problems with goods purchased, the customer is able to speak to the person who had sold them tne item and there is no "passing the buck back to head office.” S i nc e the company


started stocking the more expensive suites, they have been able to offer a confidential finance ser­ vice t hr ough Tric ity Finance Co.


UNUSUAL Although suites are the


company’s speciality, they also stock every item of household furniture except kitchen fittings. Pine and


cane furniture is quite popular. Fo r those who l ike


reproduction furniture, the company has dark oak dining room suites and


occasional furniture" made by Stanley Wood Repro­ duction Furniture Co. ;


By ANN KNOWLES The bedding department


includes most items from the cheapest single bed at £39.95 to an Adam unit in white and chocolate with twp double wardrobes and built-in dressing table at £225.


F o r anyone short of


space in a child’s bedroom there was a good idea from Sweden called a Space­ Saver, which consists of a bunk bed with a desk and wardrobe underneath for £299.


Another more unusual


item was a cabin bed with cupboa rds above and drawers underneath, all very compact and on cas­ tors for £259.


Today, people tend to


shop around before buying any item, but Mr Margen- son encourages woula-be customers to compare prices with the discounts they give. The manager.he said,had


authority to reduce a price, even to less than the price paid, if a particular line was sticking. In this way, he said, it


prevented. the company f rom having any dead stock. Today 90 per cent of their custom comes from satisfied customers telling their next door neighbours about them.


COLLECT As they are off the nor­


mal bus route, at the top of Wi l l o w s L a n e , Mr Margerison said customers were invited to come by taxi “and we will pay their taxi fare, even if they don’t buy anything.” If someone arrives in the


centre of Accrington, he said, they could telephone the showrooms and they would send a car down to collect them. “We once had an old


lady, who saw our advert and came all the way from Lytham by taxi,” said Mr Margerison. “She didn’t buy anything,


but we paid her £6 or £7 taxi fare and she went home saying how much she


. •


had enjoyed her day out,” he added.


MR GEOFFREY ASHWORTH and Mrs Kim Kerrigan, who are in charge of Prestons’ showrooms


OUR NAMES HAVE GONE SHORTER AND OUR STAFF HAVE GROWN OLDER KIM (The manageress) has got married and bought a dog called SAM


GEOFF (The manager) has gained 1 Vi stone and got a baby called Simon (his wife has just lost 1V2 stone). e t


WE ARE THE LARGEST STOCKISTS OF LOUNGE SUITES IN THE NORTH


SUITES ON SHOW


100’s OF


DRALON SUITES from


£159


TEL. ACCRINGTON 385956 or 37271 ■ - t -


RICHMOND ROAD, OFF WILLOWS LANE, ACCRINGTON 1 ^


0 L E A TH E R AN D D R A LO N S P E C IA L IS TS OPEN 9 a.m. to 5-30 p.m. DAILY LATE NIGHT FRIDAY to 8 p.m. * ■ >Jt , 1 ? / /* '" / 'A \


3,000 SUITES IN THE WAREHOUSE


Of THE SUITE CENTRE OF THE NORTH ff • _____ " ■ ■■“


HIDE CHESTERFIELDS from


£659


m im iM u p . FREE DELIVERY


P I OH YOUR 0L0 SUITE


MRS KIM KERRIGAN with her five-month-old Yorkshire terrier Sam, who amuses the children, seated in one of the new suites from Belgium


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