Parking close to showroom door

Press, 27 July 1989, Page 33

Parking close to showroom door

Location and parking at the door are key factors for the successful retailing of large goods such as carpet. Riccarton Business Park offers both of these to Floor Pride, which moved there one year ago. The business park is situated within easy reach of the city, between Riccarton and Blenheim Roads in Mandeville Street, which is fast becoming a home improvement street. Floor Pride customers have to walk no further than 50 metres from their cars to the store. This is a great advantage for customers borrowing and returning carpet samples, says Floor Pride’s managing director, Mr Graeme Lummis.

“The concept of the park, with complementary businesses grouped together appealed to me,” he said. Floor Pride is next door to Eurostyle Furniture. The two buildings will soon be linked by a covered walkway.

Pazzato Tiles is in another area of Floor Pride’s building as the two shops open into one another. It is possible to shop for furniture and floor coverings by walking only a few metres from one store to the other.

Floor Pride was previously known as Specialty Carpets. It began trading in Riccarton Business Park in the same building as Eurostyle Furniture. Four months later it moved next door into another new building.

Most windows face north, allowing customers to see carpet in natural light in the attractive new premises.

Floor Pride sells a comprehensive range of floor coverings. It sells New Zealand brands of carpet, as well as carpet from countries such as Canada and Australia. Vinyl floor coverings are imported from Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Sweden, and France. It sells three metre-wide vinyls which are excellent for eliminating joins.

Floor Pride has a huge warehouse on the same premises as the Mandeville Street store. It has the capacity to store SI.SM worth of stock on racks seven levels high. With so much carpet in stock, there is a good chance that Floor Pride will be able to supply a customer’s requirements immediately, says Mr Lummis.

A unique service offered by Floor Pride is the three-year guarantee on the carpet it supplies and on the laying. “We will make good any faults without consulting the manufacturer,” Mr Lummis says.

Floor Pride offers a net cash price on the carpet only on confirmation of a purchase. The remainder is paid cn completion of the job. Terms can be arranged. Floor Pride owns four other stores in the South Island — in St Asaph Street, Christchurch; Greymouth; Blenheim and Nelson. It also has part ownership of eight stores.