SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS
Chris Tattersall
Co-Owner of The Wool Room Antonia Scott speaks to local entrepreneurs, to find out how they have succeeded in motivating themselves and their team to ensure their start-up company is a winner How it all began... Chris Tattersall is the joint owner of The Wool Room whose Head Office is based in Empingham, Rutland, with a shop on Star Lane in Stamford since September 2012. Since graduating from St Andrew’s University in 1991, Chris’s background has always been in textiles, working initially for Osborne and Little and latterly running Relyon beds. In 2008, Bradford based Jo Dawson, established The Wool Room as a company that predominantly set out to promote and sell the finest wool interiors products, as a result of real frustration at the price of wool. Chris joined the company in 2012 and re-located the business from its origins in Bradford, in order to establish a more centrally located base to expand into a multi-channel operation. The Wool Room has gone from strength to strength, growing its own retail base to four shops and stockists across the UK and Ireland, including Heals of London. The powerhouse has been the growth of on-line business, delivering over 100% growth year-on-year and this trend looks set to continue into next year. The aim of The Wool Room is to double in size every year for the next three years, making it the key market destination in bedding for natural, healthy sleep. The latest exciting news for The Wool Room is that Dr Christian Jessen, from Channel 4’s popular ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ series, has agreed to work with them in order to highlight the natural health benefits to wool products, in particular for allergy sufferers.
Inspiration, Motivation, Vision and Drive.... Chris explains that he is inspired by “Developing and selling high quality products that make a real difference to people’s lives. I am driven by a strong desire to make a success of this business and do something for myself and my fellow co-owner, rather than for a larger, faceless corporate organisation. What really motivates me is the fact that I know that we are helping to change people’s lives, by delivering such an immediate improvement to the quality of their
“The aim of The Wool Room is to double in size every year for the next three years, making it the key market destination in bedding for natural, healthy sleep.” 44
CHRIS GREATLY ADMIRED THE LATE STEVE JOBS, FOR HIS UNRIVALLED PASSION FOR BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED PRODUCTS THAT DELIVERED LIFE CHANGING BENEFITS TO THE CONSUMER; AND HIS MANTRA: “ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER.”
that we sell. As a team, we are all professional with a strong work ethic and our vision is to improve peoples’ health and wellbeing by using wool to deliver the best natural and sustainable sleep solutions. Over time, we have discovered that this desire really resonates with the consumer and as a consequence, our focus on delivering the best natural, deeper sleep has been re-confirmed.” Chris says he greatly admired the late Steve Jobs, for his unrivalled passion for beautifully designed products that delivered life changing benefits to the consumer; and his mantra: “Always listen to the customer.”
sleep and health by using our wool beds or bedding.” “I like to motivate my team by leading from the front, demonstrating a strong work ethic that incorporates all our key values. Communication is key and as we are a very small, tight team this is made easier, but we regularly discuss the latest challenges and I like to empower the decision making, where possible to the team. I like my employees to come to me with solutions to problems rather than just the problem itself. We then discuss their solution which helps the team work more effectively and efficiently.”
Passion, belief and mantras! Chris’s ability to get his team to share in his passion and beliefs is by “Communication regular formal and informal discussions. I share the Company’s financial performance and we work through any areas that might need improvement, before moving on to the key objectives of the next quarter.” “My ultimate aim for The Wool Room is to make people stop and think before they purchase their next bed or set of bedding, and to consider the huge benefits of natural wool products, which are a sustainable alternative that really does deliver significantly better sleep. Our key company values are simple - we care that our customers are using sustainable, natural, healthy wool products that improve their well being. I am passionate and knowledgeable about wool and the products
5 REASONS TO BUY WOOL BEDDING: • 25% better sleep than other bedding types • Temperature regulating – no more night sweats or waking up cold! • Hypo allergenic – official seal of approval from The British Allergy Foundation – ask Dr Jessen! • Machine washable products • Supports British farmers DID YOU KNOW? • That even after washing or freezing synthetic, feather or down bedding, it will be completely re-colonized by dust mites after only 6 weeks! In comparison, no live house dust mites or allergens were detected in The Wool Room bedding. • You can test-sleep The Wool Room’s bedding in a variety of guest houses and B&Bs nationwide – the nearest being Chris’s local pub – The White Horse in Empingham. • For more information: www.thewoolroom.com
STAMFORD LIVING OCTOBER 2014
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