Lifetime Achievement Award

We were thrilled to present Peter Harrison, executive chairman of retailer Furniture Village, with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, recognising his 50-year career in the furnishing industry.

Our Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a visionary leader who has devoted their life to the furtherment of the trade and left an indelible mark on the industry.

Peter started his career in 1965 at the age of 19 when he got his first job as a management trainee at UDS, which later became Allders Department Stores.

Peter spent 20 years at Allders, rising to become a main board director. He moved on to join the board of the Gillows Group in the mid-1980s, where he met David Imrie, and together they co-founded Furniture Village, opening their first store in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1989.

Today Furniture Village has 55 stores and a strong online presence that is still growing. It is currently the largest independent furniture retailer in the UK, with an annual order intake of circa £500m (including VAT).

Furthermore, Peter is a massive supporter of the British furniture manufacturing industry and a keen supporter of British furniture designers. He has been a long-time supporter of the Company and our charity, with Furniture Village being a founding corporate member.

We were delighted to honour Peter during the commemorative dinner of newly installed Master, Tony Attard OBE DL, on Monday 9 May 2022, at the Mansion House in the City of London.

Peter was joined at the celebration by friends, family and colleagues, including his son Charlie Harrison, who is the managing director at Furniture Village.

Commenting at the time, Peter said: “I am both thrilled and honoured to receive such an acclamation from The Furniture

Makers’ Company for purely doing a job I enjoy, alongside people I admire, in an industry I love.”

The Master said: “We are delighted to be able to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter to honour his outstanding contribution to the furnishing industry by establishing Furniture Village, the largest independent furniture retailer in the UK, which remains a family firm. As a corporate member, Peter has long been a generous supporter of the Company, besides other sporting and medical foundations.” furniturevillage.co.uk