One of the UK’s leading independent furniture retailers has created opportunities for other neighbouring businesses in Birmingham.
Cookes Furniture invited two small businesses, based in Sutton Coldfield, to set up shop for the day inside their largest store, to help promote their crafts and products to Cookes’ cliental.
A mixture of artistic and creative skills were demonstrated in the Erdington Furniture store last week. The day enabled customers to buy items and learn a few skills along the way, which provided the two businesses with the opportunity to gain potential clients for themselves.
Jo Kentish started her cupcake business, Mrs Ladies Cupcakes, through the use of social networking and has become very popular in the Sutton Coldfield area.
She said: “This was a great opportunity for me. Being such a small business and only doing this from home and to order it is very hard to get business. It was a great chance for me to demonstrate what I do to other people. By asking me to do this Cookes has helped in building up my cliental.”
Nita Webster, a local florist and owner of Stems of Sutton, was also invited to the store to demonstrate her artistic flower arranging.
She said: “I have been in the industry for 15 years and have previously done demonstrations at wedding fayres but never for another local business. It was a lovely day and enabled me to sell some of my arrangements and also offer step by step demonstrations.”
James Pike, Managing Director of Cookes Furniture, said; “Cookes Furniture saw this as a perfect opportunity to help neighbouring businesses increase their cliental and demonstrate their skills to local people of the Birmingham area. This is not something we do every day; however we believe in supporting our local businesses in any way we can.”
The day proved to be a great event and very successful for both local businesses, as well as the customers that attended.