Business

It's curtains for Banbridge family firm as Bedwin move in

Bedwin managing director Ossie Wallace and son Chris Wallace in the new Banbridge shop
Bedwin managing director Ossie Wallace and son Chris Wallace in the new Banbridge shop Bedwin managing director Ossie Wallace and son Chris Wallace in the new Banbridge shop

ONE of Banbridge's longest-established independent retailers has been sold to a rival firm in Kilkeel.

Walker's Soft Furnishings has been part of the fabric of Banbridge since 1932, and was run by three generations of the same family.

But it has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by Bedwin Soft Furnishings, which specialises in manufacturing curtains and blinds as well as supplying fabrics and giftware to retail, commercial and contract-based companies.

The move will safeguard two jobs in Banbridge and create at least another two posts.

Bedwin, founded by Ossie and Pamela Wallace in April 1984 when they opened a store at Newry Road in Kilkeel, is enjoying an extended period of growth, both organically and by acquisition.

It has been granted planning permission for a new purpose-built 3000 sq ft manufacturing base and a 1,000 sq ft storage facility, which will be complete by the end of this year.

Chris Wallace, sales director for Bedwin, which also has an outlet in Warrenpoint, said: "We are delighted to have acquired a business as well-established as Walker’s. Its remarkable history and longevity within the Banbridge community shows the quality of the business model for over 80 years.

“We aim to capitalise on our period of growth through creating more new jobs and appealing to an international audience through showcasing our products via our new website.

"We are thankful for what we have achieved over the last 30 years and, who knows, where the company could be in another 30 years.”

Walker's director Jonty Walker added: "Our family are delighted that Bedwin will be able to carry on our proud tradition of serving the people of Banbridge and its surrounding areas. We wish Bedwin good luck in their new venture.”

Meanwhile one of Ireland’s largest online shopping sites for curtains, www.365Curtains.com, has been launched by the Spinning Wheel, one of the longest-established businesses in Donegall Square, which has been a stalwart for fabrics and curtains in Belfast for nearly 40 years.

Due to the demand from customers in Ireland and Britain, the Spinning Wheel - established in 1975 by entrepreneur Harold Curran - has invested £30,000 in acquiring the state-of-the-art new shopping portal, and the site has already had more than 5,000 hits in just two weeks, with orders coming from as far as Norway, Italy and Australia.

Mr Curran said: “The market has changed significantly over the past 40 years, and we’ve had to continually ‘reinvent the wheel’ to remain current.

IInvesting in online 12 years ago has proved fortuitous, resulting in our biggest-ever order from Amarillo, Texas, and we felt that the time is right to take our online offering to the next level.

“This latest investment is extremely important to the future of the business, in terms of the potential for exports and growing our customer base even further.”

The Spinning Wheel currently employs 30 staff and occupies 5,000 sq. ft of prime city central retail space.