Frank’s rolls out 30-year celebrations

A family-run North East flooring retailer is laying the foundations for its next chapter as it celebrates 30 years in business and a network that has grown to 30 stores.

Frank’s The Flooring Store opened its first outlet on Portrack Lane in Stockton in 1996 and now operates from Alnwick in the north to Northallerton in the south.

Growth has been supported by a substantial warehousing and distribution operation, allowing the business to buy carpet, vinyl, laminate and luxury vinyl tile in volume and hold significant stock.

Despite changes across the retail landscape, including the rise of online shopping, recession and the pandemic, Frank’s has remained family owned and continued expanding its North East footprint.

The business says many customers who first visited its stores during the 1990s now return with their children as they furnish homes of their own.

Billy Maguire, director at Frank’s The Flooring Store, said: “Thirty years is a milestone we are proud of, particularly when you think about how much retail has changed since that first shop opened on Portrack Lane in 1996. 

“We have gone from one store to 30 stores across the North East, but the basic idea behind Frank’s has not changed. 

“We buy a lot of flooring, we work extremely hard to buy it at the right price, and we give customers genuine value for money. 

“That is what ‘we buy better, so you pay less’ actually means.

“What I am proudest of is that Frank's has remained a North East family business. 

“We employ local people, we buy on a scale that lets us compete with anyone, and our stores are part of the communities they serve. 

“None of it exists without our customers, and we now have people coming into our stores who remember their parents buying carpets from Frank’s when they were children.

“So, this anniversary is really a thank you, to our customers and to the staff who have given a huge part of their working lives to this business. 

“We are not treating 30 years as a finishing line. 

“We are proud of where we have come from, and just as excited about where we go next.”

To mark its 30th anniversary, Frank’s has also launched a new regional television campaign, bringing back its familiar ‘I love carpets, me!’ slogan.

Celebrations will continue across its stores and social media channels under #Franks30 until the end of the year, featuring archive advertising, photographs and stories from staff and customers.

Wayne Jones, sales director at Frank’s The Flooring Store, added: “The best thing about being in the business this long is seeing the generations come through. 

“Someone will walk into a store and tell you their mam and dad bought their carpets from Frank’s, and now they are buying flooring for their own house. 

“That is not something you can manufacture with an advertising campaign. 

“It comes from being here year after year, looking after people and giving them a reason to come back.

“Frank’s has always had a bit of personality about it as well. 

“We are a North East business and we have never pretended otherwise. 

“‘I love carpets, me’ is the best example of that. 

“People have been shouting it at us for years, in the shops, at the football and in the street, and the fact they are still doing it 30 years on tells you everything.”

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