The History of Harts
ThE
HISTORY OF HARTS
A
Our family business for over 95 years
t the age of 17, Walter Hart, an
Every generation has
apprentice blacksmith and our
made their mark
current MD Philip Hart’s
grandfather, joined the Royal
Field Artillery as a farrier. In 1920, Walter was
demobilised from the army, and he established his
own blacksmith business in Sturminster Newton,
just a brief canter away from where we are today.
His reputation gradually grew and so, in
1941, Philip’s Uncle Bill joined the family
business, helping his father shoe horses,
mend cart wheels and doing other
general repair work. In 1945, Walter’s
second son, and Philip’s father, Eddie,
finished his National Service in the RAF
and joined the burgeoning family firm.
This proved successful, but it was
driving forward without a proper
direction for a year or two, until Philip’s
two sons left university, and joined the
family firm. Johnathan and Graham
were able to bring a much greater
understanding of the modern,
technological world. The internet
business has grown very rapidly,
becoming a well respected, national
award-winning enterprise.
In 1949 they outgrew their small
workshop, and new premises were
constructed on the fringes of a marshy
area of town called Butts Pond, and we
still call this home to this day. Around the
time of the new forges, it was decided to
branch out. As Eddie was never that fond
of horses, he started retailing agricultural
ironmongery, and manufacturing basic
farm implements.
By 1973, with farrier work in decline, the
manufacturing side of the business had
taken off, and a brand new factory was
built to support this success. Eddie had
created a major manufacturing business, and chose
to refuse offers from leading national companies to
buy him out. He saw the greater value, like today’s
generation, in seeing the family business continue.
The current MD Philip Hart joined the business in
1979, and set about transforming the retail shop
from an agricultural suppliers into a modern,
country department store. The old forge buildings
were demolished, and a purpose built shop and
offices were erected. Today’s store encompasses
many departments, including, of course, Kitchen.
Philip has always had his eye on the next big thing
and, with that in mind, in the early nineties Harts
took its first tentative steps into mail order. Some
early success gave us the encouragement we
needed, and our first trading website was launched
in 1995, one of the first operational and trading sites
anywhere in the country. (We even
featured in the Daily Telegraph).
A purpose-built 60,000 square-foot
despatch centre was completed in 2010,
and a new suite of sales offices shortly
after in 2013, both purpose-built to
give our mail order customers the
same level of service and efficiency
that our store customers have enjoyed
for so many years. Graham has three
daughters, while Johnathan has a son,
so the next generation is all lined up!
The rest of the family
We now employ over 40 staff, all of whom are
dedicated to our ‘family business’ ethos that has
always garnered both customer and staff
loyalty. We call them our extended family – some
have worked here for over 25 years, and all are
friends as well as colleagues. Our family business is
built on our lovely staff, and they all play an
important part in our past, and our future.
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www.hartsofstur.com