A North West company, Bettaliving, which has thrived during the recent consumer downturn, is forecasting another year of strong growth, after sales rose 30% to more than £30m.
Oldham-based Betta Living, a family-owned kitchens, bedrooms, home office and bathrooms retailer, says its commitment to value and high customer service has underpinned its strong performance as larger competitors such as Manchester's Homeform and MFI have fallen by the wayside.
Founder and chief executive Noel Dean told TheBusinessDesk.com: "I'm feeling very confident about 2013 - we've had another good year where we've seen 30% growth - and I expect we'll be looking for 25-30% growth next year.
"We've continued to invest in the business - in our stores and our web presence - and we've ear-marked a number of new store locations for opening next year."
Betta Living currently has 22 showrooms and also takes space to exhibit its designs in high footfall shopping malls such as London's Westfield.
The next openings will most likely be in the M25 area, as Betta Living already has a strong presence in the North West and West Midlands so the markets for kitchens Manchester, kitchens Warrington and kitchens in Oldham are already well catered for.
While Mr Dean, whose son Jamie works in the business with him, says the 240-strong company has seen some benefit from the collapse of major competitors, the real secret is delivering premium service to customers.
"We have fine-tuned the process - so the customer knows what they are getting and who is doing the work. We have a very loyal pool of subcontractors doing the work for us - some have been working for us for many years."
The company's online investment has seen Manchester-based digital agency Code Computerlove relaunch its website, which has been optimised for desktop, mobile and tablet users.
It also features a new logo and strapline: 'Choose Britain’s Favourite'.
Mr Dean added: "Visitor numbers to our website have risen sharply year on year and the web has become a major source of bookings for our free home design consultation service.
“Our philosophy as a business has long been to continually re-invest in our marketing and operations, and the time was right to re-vamp the site."
