THE Soham Carpet and Bedding Centre first opened its doors in 1977, trading from premises in Churchgate Street, Soham, selling furniture, carpet, linens and blinds. Throughout their 28 years in Soham, customers came from the surrounding area, including N

THE Soham Carpet and Bedding Centre first opened its doors in 1977, trading from premises in Churchgate Street, Soham, selling furniture, carpet, linens and blinds.

Throughout their 28 years in Soham, customers came from the surrounding area, including Newmarket and Ely and the company built up a reputation of quality products at affordable prices, installed by expert fitters and quality seamstresses.

Owner and managing director, Robert Barnes, explained: "In order to succeed in what is sometimes a difficult market place you have to strive to be better that the rest. Over the years, our business developed from retail sales to a mixture of retail and contract sales."

Today, Soham Carpet and Bedding has changed its approach to selling, according to Robert.

"Instead of customers coming to visit us we now visit them in their own homes," he said. The company has a huge selection of carpet and cushion floors, thousands of curtain samples, from beautiful voiles and silks through to fabrics heavy enough to cover upholstery. There is also a great range of roller blinds, beautiful vertical blinds, Venetian blinds and curtain poles available.

"We still fit our own carpets and cushion floors and I can say with confidence that we have some of the best floor-layers in the county. We continue to make and hang our own curtains and, again, our seamstresses are the best."

Robert continued: "I think the service on offer to our customers is now better than ever. The fact that people can choose from our huge range of products from the comfort of their own homes is certainly an advantage. It is often a difficult job selecting home furnishings and we are confident that we make the whole process easier and more of a pleasure for the customer, and that is what it is all about."

As well as daytime appointments from Monday through to Saturday, Robert still does evening appointments, generally Mondays and Tuesdays, but can do other evenings if necessary.

"It is all about making yourself available to customers when it is convenient for them," he said.

Together with his wife Lisa, who runs the office and deals with the day-to-day telephone enquiries, Robert has built Soham Carpet and Bedding into a thriving business and is keen to continue providing a top-class service to new and old customers alike.