Furniture News speaks to Jason Peterkin, the MD of 247 Home Furnishings, an online supplier of window blinds, shutters and curtains …
Three words that describe your business
I would have to offer four small words – quality made for you.
The last trade show you visited
The last trade show I attended was R+T Stuttgart 2019.
Your most praiseworthy supplier
As a business, we deal with a vast number of different suppliers depending on the type of window you need to cover and the time scales you’d like. We’re proud to say that we have a very open and communicative relationship with them all and are sure to have regular catch-ups. Therefore, I couldn’t single one out as the most integral cog in our well-oiled machine – all of our suppliers are key.
Your best-performing product
Within the industry, we have long been known as one of the leading suppliers of wooden Venetian blinds. We have a fantastic range of high-quality products, all with fast delivery times that have proven hard to beat. The Venetian blind, with its wooden panels coming in classic white shades, has proven to be timeless in the UK. Saying that, we have seen a rise in demand for grey designs over the last year.
Your personal favourite
You can’t beat a day/night blind – a combination of Venetian and roller blind. They may not be as well-known, but they are very popular in Europe. If you’re a little daring with your decor, I’d recommend a brightly coloured day/night blind – it can bring a real splash of colour without making too much of a statement.
Your approach to staff training
We find that on-the-job-training works best for us. Practice makes perfect, after all. We have a relatively small team who are all experts in their fields – it’s great to know that all of our staff have good knowledge of our range and are always willing to help newcomers who aren’t quite as experienced. We have a list of common enquiries that we are now well versed in dealing with, which has made training new starters a simple process. There’s no better way of learning than getting stuck in.
The most significant change you’ve made in your business recently
We’ve really focused on our overall brand image over the last 12 months, and have tried to steer 247 Blinds towards consistency. Our customers can use a number of platforms to interact with us – we want to offer the exact same experience across all of those channels. We’re very aware that we’re part of a marketplace with businesses that may seem similar to us on the surface – by focusing on consistency in our identity as a brand, we’ve been able to reassure customers that they’ve made the right choice in us.
The tastes that best reflect your audience
Across the windowcovering industry, we have found that the most popular colours tend to be natural, cream and white tones. Due to their versatility and enduring appeal, they have always proven prominent – colours that won’t go out of fashion have natural longevity in people’s homes and hearts.
The technology you’ve introduced most recently
Online sales, especially with home furnishings, is key – where else can you find accurate lifestyle images of the product actually in use? We have recently spent a lot of time, invested a lot of funding and dedicated many resources to ensuring the images of our products are of the highest quality. These have enabled us to give customers a true representation of what they can expect our blinds to look like in their homes.
Your number-one selling tip
Hassle-free selling of good-quality products, at the best price possible, has always proven to work well for us.
