Peter Harrison, chief executive of Furniture Village, has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, recognising his 50-year career.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a visionary leader who has devoted their life to the furtherment of the trade and left an indelible mark on the industry.
Peter started his career in 1965 at the age of 19 when he got his first job as a management trainee at UDS, which later became Allders Department Stores.
Peter spent 20 years at Allders, rising to become a main board director. He moved on to join the board of the Gillows Group in the mid-1980s where he met David Imrie, and together they co-founded Furniture Village, opening their first store in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1989.
Today Furniture Village has 54 stores and a strong online presence that is still growing. It is currently the largest independent furniture retailer in the UK, with an annual order intake of circa £500m (including VAT) in the past year.
Furthermore, Peter is a huge supporter of the British furniture manufacturing industry and a keen supporter of British furniture designers.
The ceremony took place on 9th May 2022 at the Mansion House in the City of London during the commemorative dinner of the newly installed master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, Tony Attard OBE DL, and was attended by around 170 people.
Peter was joined at the celebration by friends, family and colleagues, including his son Charlie, the commercial director at Furniture Village.
Peter says: "I am both thrilled and honoured to receive such an acclamation from The Furniture Makers’ Company for purely doing a job I enjoy, alongside people I admire, in an industry I love!”
Pictured: Peter Harrison and Tony Attard OBE DL
