Harts of Stur Kitchen Issue 5, Christmas 2017 | Page 47

Arthur Price Father and son, Simon and James, take care of the family silver Family First R unning a multi-million-pound international business is tough, and Simon Price works long hours. But it’s all for one reason... family. Not just to provide for his wife Lesley and three children; James, Tori and Harry but to maintain tradition. He said: “I am merely a custodian of the Arthur Price brand. My job is to maintain the high standard of both products and services and pass this knowledge and passion on to future generations. I’m delighted my eldest son James has joined the business, and one day Tori and Harry may join the fold.” “There’s nothing better than chatting with my family around the dinner table (with Arthur Price cutlery of course). James and Tori have left home, Harry is at university, but they all keep coming back for their Mum’s roasts. I want them to have that same love for working hard so they can enjoy spending quality time with loved ones. “I love what I do. I also love not having to satisfy shareholders. Arthur Price is 100% family-owned, and so we can be light on our feet and react to customers’ needs with that personal touch.” One big family The ethos of the company is one big family. Simon articulates what he means by saying staff aren’t staff, they are people: “What do I mean? Well, we have many people who have worked for us for over 30 years and one person in customer service has been around longer 47 than me! By using these examples of long-service I like to think I look after everyone, it’s an enjoyable place to work, and everyone is on a journey. “These long-standing people have seen many changes as we have modernised the company to take into account globalisation and online shopping. But the ethos remains the same; top quality products, the best customer service. This has benefits for the customers. They not only know our products but the whole industry and can help me make company decisions but also advise customers. When someone comes in with a 40-year- old knife and needs some help, we have someone in our customer service team who can help. You can’t buy that sort of experience.”