Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2009 | Page 125

LOCAL BUSINESS

into home styles such as Coastal (white washed
wooden photo frames, windlights, and candles),
and Country Living (chinaware, heart themed
motifs and patterned cushions). They also offer
gift wrap and greeting cards (6 cards for 99p!),
and naturally with 60 years in the lighting
industry, their table lamps and shades are
competitively priced.
“We are extremely price conscious.” says
Sammie, “and we regularly focus on the strategies
of the big chains to ensure we keep in touch
with key price points. Everything we sell has
to represent quality and value – it’s a key skill
we have learnt from supplying chain-stores and
supermarkets for so many years.”
However, Readers real strength comes with
its furniture ranges. “We have a policy of only
dealing with quality hard-wood furniture that
is made to last,” said Claire. “We like to bring
in new ranges, but we ensure that we continue
offering existing ranges – in some cases customers
are still adding to furniture ranges they started
buying from us over four years ago.”
Sammie adds, “We have a very loyal local
customer base who we know personally, and
because we are located conveniently to the town,
some customers visit us weekly. But we still have

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customers coming into the shop saying they never
knew we were here – so we are confident there are
more people on the island who would like what we
have to offer. We also get a surprising amount of
custom from people who are on holiday.”
Sammie doesn’t just credit herself and Claire
to the shop’s continuing success. “The team
here is wonderful to work with - we have all
been together for a long time now. We feel the
team works well, and that is backed up from
the amounts of compliments I receive about our
customer service.”
And what about the future for Readers Interiors?
Sammie is cautiously confident about trading
through difficult times. “Trading conditions are
certainly less than ideal, but we’ve always been
prepared to adapt the business to suit the market.
Because we offer furniture, home accessories and
gifts right across the price spectrum, we hope
everyone can find something to brighten their
home from Readers.”

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