Business Action | Summer 2022
Summer 2022 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue includes features on the winners of our North Devon Business Awards 2022, articles on awards schemes, business support programmes and more.
Summer 2022 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue includes features on the winners of our North Devon Business Awards 2022, articles on awards schemes, business support programmes and more.
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ENVIRONMENT<br />
Family firm supplies British carpets and beds<br />
North Devonisfortunatetobe<br />
hometomanyindependent<br />
businesses,oftenstartedand<br />
managedbyfamilies.<br />
KingsCarpetsat<br />
Pottington,Barnstapleisa<br />
third-generationfamily<br />
business,startedinIlfracombe<br />
in1963andmovingtoits<br />
presentsitein1969.Laurie<br />
andPeggieHarveystartedthe<br />
business,joinedbytheirson<br />
Martinin1974,whotookover<br />
thereinsbeforepassingthem<br />
ontohisownsonJackHarvey,<br />
nowgeneralmanager.<br />
Jackthoughtaboutworking<br />
inthefamilybusinessinhis<br />
teensandjoinedstraightfrom<br />
school.Heisnowinhis16 th<br />
yearandthoroughlyenjoysthe<br />
interactionwithcustomers.<br />
“Alotofcustomers<br />
continuetosupportusand<br />
somehavebeencomingtous<br />
forover40yearsanddealt<br />
withmygrandad,”saysJack.<br />
Thebusinessadvertises<br />
littleasmostofitscustomers<br />
Jack Harvey, general manager of independent family business Kings Carpets in Barnstaple<br />
It’s sad that many of us assume that much of what we buy is made<br />
overseas. When editor Robert Zarywacz needed new stair carpet,<br />
naturally he chose to purchase from a North Devon independent<br />
business, but was surprised that both carpet and underlay supplied<br />
by Kings Carpets were manufactured in Britain. He decided to find<br />
out more about the firm and the products it supplies<br />
areattractedthroughword-ofmouthrecommendation.<br />
“Honestyiskey.Weteach<br />
staffthathonestyiskeyandto<br />
makesuretheyalwaysgetthe<br />
correctanswerforthe<br />
customer.Wesellquality<br />
productsatareasonableprice,<br />
givegoodcustomerservice<br />
andarereliable.”<br />
Thebusinessnowemploysa<br />
teamofsome20staffwho<br />
togetherrunKingsCarpets,its<br />
adjoiningremnantoutlet<br />
store,theCarpetMill,andits<br />
nearbyBedKingdomstore,<br />
launchedin1976–allthree<br />
storesatPottingtonofferfree<br />
parkingtocustomers.<br />
KingsCarpetsoffersa<br />
rangeofmorethan1,000<br />
carpetandluxuryvinyltile<br />
samplesinitslarge,modern<br />
showroomandJackpointsout<br />
thatupto90%ofthecarpets,<br />
flooring,underlayand<br />
accessoriesitsellsaremadein<br />
Britain.Thishasincreased<br />
fromsome60%beforethe<br />
pandemic.Jacksaysthe<br />
reasonsforthisaretheirhigh<br />
quality,reliability,pricesand<br />
tosupporttheUKeconomy.<br />
Likewise,BedKingdom<br />
suppliessome85%ofBritish<br />
products,includingbeds,<br />
mattresses,frames,<br />
headboards,divansandmore.<br />
Supportinglocalbusinesses<br />
isimportant,butinreturn<br />
thosebusinessesneedto<br />
deliverqualityproductsand<br />
goodservice.That’swhat<br />
KingsCarpetshasdonefor<br />
almost60yearsandwhyJack<br />
sayscustomerstrustit.<br />
■ Details01271374393or<br />
kingscarpetsdevon.co.uk<br />
Bed Kingdom’s showroom stocks a huge selection of beds<br />
Mark Langworthy tells the history of Ilfracombe’s George and Dragon pub<br />
Devon Ghost Tourswasborn<br />
afterMarkLangworthyand<br />
HuetMartels,bothwithalong<br />
historyofinvestigating<br />
reportedlyhauntedlocations,<br />
createdvirtualghostand<br />
historytoursofIlfracombe<br />
duringlockdowns.<br />
Followingpositivefeedback,<br />
thepairhaverecentlylaunched<br />
Ghost walks in rain or shine<br />
thebusinessprovidinginpersontoursaround<br />
IlfracombeandTorrington.The<br />
currentrangeofwalkscovers<br />
Ilfracombe’shighstreet,<br />
harbour,railwayandseafront<br />
andTorrington’sCivilWartrail.<br />
DevonGhostToursalso<br />
Mark Langworthy keeps ghostseekers spellbound in the rain<br />
hostsGhostHunting<br />
Experiencenightswhereyou<br />
canlearnabouttheequipment<br />
usedandhowtoconduct<br />
paranormalinvestigations.<br />
Havingbeensettledsince<br />
theIronAge,Ilfracombeis<br />
steepedinhistorywithtales<br />
fromtheEnglishCivilWar,of<br />
wreckersandsmugglers,and<br />
fromtheVictorianera.<br />
Itsbuildingsandlocations<br />
aresaidtocontinuetoreplay<br />
eventsorhaveresidentspirits<br />
tothisday–seeifit’strueona<br />
walkwithDevonGhostTours.<br />
■ Detailsandbookingat<br />
devonghosttours.com<br />
@businessactionm | <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | business action 5
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