We cover many areas with regards to the environment and are always looking at ways to improve our processes to ensure that we are doing as much as we can to protect the environment at home and abroad.

Tree Planting.

The biggest thing that A world of furniture do is to “Plant a Tree for every item we sell”, as a company we obviously rely heavily on products made from a natural resource that has a huge impact on the environment and we feel that it is our responsibility to lessen this impact in fact to try and neutralise it.  The team at A world of furniture have done everything  to make sure that all products come from sustainable sources but to really make sure that we are putting back into the system as much as we are taking out we have also been sponsoring the Forestry Commission and have been doing this since 2008.

By doing this we have helped in the planting of some 60,000 trees which have been a mix of hard woods and soft, evergreen and deciduous in our local forests, usually New Forest , Savernake Forest and further afield.

Recycling.

A world of furniture gets through an enormous amount of packaging and it is in our best interests to remove this in the best way possible, not just for reasons of the environment but it does make a bit of a mess in the warehouse! Part of the reason we will unpack everything on delivery (other than being very helpful!) is to make sure that we recycle as much of this packaging as possible and to that end we recycle at least 22 tonnes of cardboard and paper every year.

Bee Keepers

There are many facets to the environment and it is not always the obvious ones that need attention – trees for instance are the usual target for most but it is also the smallest of interactions in nature that need attention too and there is no bigger (…. or smaller !) example than that of the humble Bee which has been in rapid decline over the last decade or so.

The bee is a great contributor to the pollination of many species of flora, indeed many garden plants and agricultural/ horticultural crops (These include most tree and soft fruits, also many vegetable crops rely on this pollination) also need bees to bring about pollination by transferring pollen from the flowers anthers to the stigmas.

It is needless to say that if this pollination was slowed, its impact lessened by the smaller area a reduced population of bees could pollinate, it would obviously effect the abundance of plant life but it could in turn have a massive impact on our wildlife who rely on this flora for food, shelter or even mating, many insect species and butterflies are already in massive decline because of disappearing habitats, obviously there are many other factors that will contribute to this but on of the biggest proportion is attributed to the lack of pollination.

So to this end we sponsor the local Salisbury and District Bee Keeping Association to help them in increasing hives and bee numbers across the south.

Vehicle Management.

We now have several service and delivery vehicles on the road and as you can imagine there is quite a large fuel bill to met every year so again it is in our interests to have the most efficient vehicles on the road ….. that’s it job done. Well not quite, it is all very well having efficient vehicles that in their own right are friendly to the environment and on paper will no doubt save us money on the fuel bill but if we do not use them in a efficient manner then these numbers are meaningless and so we we introduced vehicle tracking systems.

These allow us to not only give good indication of how deliveries are going but to plan our routes more precisely, to monitor and reduce our fuel usage and even check the mileages to make sure that we not only run each of the vehicles as productively as possible but with as little environmental impact as we can.

Sustainable Sourcing.

New EU regulations have come into force this year with regards the importation of timber and any products that are made outside the EU, A world of furniture has for many years been very proactive in this area and has always made sure that we have purchased furniture from reliable manufacturers across the globe that have come from sustainable sources , to this end we have worked hard over the last couple of years to make sure that all of our suppliers have the correct FSC Certifications for their products.

This is just a summary of the things that we get up to as a business and I am sure that other ideas will come to us over the next few years  as there will always be ways to improve our efforts and you can rest assured that this will be like everything that we do in that we will always strive to better ourselves and the ways we go about our business.

Keeping things simple , keeping your message relevant and being proactive are at the heart of our business practices, with one common aim, keeping our customers happy! Everyone at A World Of Furniture strongly believes in ‘getting it right’- it’s at the heart of our mission statement and our business charter.

The foundation for all our work has got to be our staff , from our youngest sales assistants right through to our managers- nothing is possible without their allegiance , honesty , integrity and passion. Everyone in the team is reliant on someone else in the chain. The banter, the competitiveness and need to ‘get it right’ is self evident to all who visit our company. Visit any of our stores in Salisbury , Blandford , Poole and Chandlers Ford and see for yourself- they are all more than superb. Solid Wood superstores is run by passionate people !”

Our message is simple and we hope it ’runs through’ all we try to achieve. Quality furniture , and lots of it , at more than affordable prices with good old fashioned service. Business and the way we conduct ours is evolving, but many secrets lie in the past ! Everyone understands value and in turn good service. Solid quality furniture at the best prices has always excited our customers. But what really gets their attention is the service to go with it. Going that one step further than the rest or just living up to expectations is what A World Of Furniture is all about.

We sometimes look at what we achieve for our customers and think surely it should be ‘the norm’. Unfortunately most companies have forgotten what is achievable and what the norm should be. We aren’t perfect but we do strive to give the best of ourselves and if we do ever fall short we always redress the issue very quickly !

Our good name has always been linked to our quality furniture -our solid wood furniture ! Unlike many of our competitors we source from both the UK and abroad- staying competitive is important but staying loyal to our UK furniture ‘roots’ is as equally important. We sell Oak , Pine and Painted furniture to suit every taste and pocket- but understand it must be fit for purpose. Simply buying at low prices from Chinese warehouses/factories getting high margins on sub standard furniture will not do. Those retailers old and new alike are always short lived- as we say”.. visit a land of furniture if you wish but why would you, if you have a world of furniture to visit ?

Such ranges in our portfolio include Vancouver , Salisbury , Dinton , Rustic and Newland – all of them Solid wood products which live up to and exceed customer expectations.

Throughout 2013 as the leading force in Oak , Pine and Painted furniture retailing throughout Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset we will look to innovate and improve our business. We will continue to support local and international charities including Cancer Research , Salisbury District Hospital , The Trussell Trust , Naomi House and Cystic Fibrosis. Our ecological  and environmental work is ever reaching and ‘growing’- through our Furniture For Trees Scheme and educationally through our sister company Countrylore Bushcraft.

Commercially we have surged forwards with great effect now offering Free local delivery and ‘hot off the press’ our Lets Deal Promotion. Lets Deal is all about ‘delivering’ precisely what the customer wants. Having identified some of our very best selling Oak and Pine furniture lines we have bought them in, in large quantities obtaining some fantastic discounts. Using low margins we can now offer some of the very best- if not the best prices ! On our best selling oak and pine furniture products….

So.. Are we on a Mission ? Of course we are ! All of the ‘cornerstones of our business need constant attention and scrutiny. We need to always be the best at what we do, with one simple message- Quality demands quality !

A world of furniture have always strived to give you the best prices on our oak furniture, well this and our huge selection of Pine, Painted, Indian, Mango, Teak…. I will leave it there, you get the idea, the list is fairly extensive and that’s not even including all the accessories that A world of furniture do, the mirrors, prints, carvings, lamps, rugs,  baskets….. sorry doing it again, the short version – there’s lots of other stuff in store besides furniture!

But I digress, back to the point! A world of furniture are renowned for bringing the best products, at the best price and to provide the best service (read our charter for full insight into what we want to provide for you) and this has been the case for nearly 20 years and as if we needed to underline this point A world of furniture has once more gone to ever increasing lengths to provide you with the very best value for money.

We recently launched “Lets Deal” a promotion that pinpoints some of the fastest selling items across several of the best selling oak and pine ranges to which we have then applied the best price.

We have primarily been able to do this because behind the scenes we have worked hard with our suppliers to fine tune the wholesale prices, the simplest way of lowering these costs is to buy bigger quantities, this helps the manufacturer to batch build more efficiently a small group of products in a particular range which in turn decreases the costs of these products, they pass on the savings to A world of furniture and in turn, as always we pass these discounts on to you leading to massive savings across  a fantastic selection of solid oak  and pine furniture.

Of course there is another side affect of buying in bigger quantities other than decreasing the costs, there are no silly lead times,  you can have everything delivered within days rather than weeks, because we are holding bigger stocks, you get it quicker! It really is a win win situation all round!

So pop  in store now and keep a eye out for the “Lets Deal” tickets and grab yourself a bargain, oh and keep in mind that we have also been working on our delivery costs too (yes we have been very busy of late!) and are now able to offer free local delivery, still the same service too, into the room of your choice, unwrapped, fully assembled and ready to use, even the rubbish is taken away for recycling so the only thing you have to worry about is who to invite round to admire it all….

Lets Deal!!

This charter does not just cover those specific ideals that A world of furniture likes to uphold such as providing the very best value for money, but also our promise to maintain a healthy relationship with the community on our own door step and beyond, we are successful and like to, whenever possible use the resources gained from this success to support local charities, projects and organisations but also to commit ourselves to helping the environment within the business and further afield.

This also covers some of what we have achieved so here it is – our charter!

“Our Business Charter ”

*At A world of furniture we will always provide a Friendly, Honest and Proficient Service

*We source the best products from some of the worlds best manufacturers

*A world of furniture will always give the Best Prices as recognised nationally by our customers and the trade alike.

*We stock 1000′s of products in our 30,000 sq ft Warehouses

*Always to provide a superb Two Man Delivery Service

*A world of furniture owns a comprehensive Transport  and Multi Fleet division

*We will Price Match on identical brands

*Offer a 30 Day no quibble Return Policy

*To continue adding to the 60,000 trees planted through our Furniture For Trees Scheme in partnership with the Forestry Commision

*Remain a long term supporter of Bee Keeping in Wiltshire

*We have an ongoing commitment to recycling our packaging

*We support British Furniture manufacturers who employ over 2000 workers

*Proud to supply customers from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland,  USA and The Falkland Islands

*Major Supporter of  The Trussell Trust – feeding tens of thousands of people in the UK and beyond

*Charity supporter of Help for Heroes – Naomi House – Cancer Trust – Salisbury Hospital

As you can see we are committed to not only providing the best furniture, best prices, best service but also committed to giving our best back to the world outside of the business – we have been doing this for the last twenty years and by god we will continue to do it over the next 20!

But this year has been hard on us all with the financial crisis, companies going to the wall left, right and centre, food prices soaring, everyone has had to tighten their belts just a little more than normal this year, but still presents have to be bought, food stocked up and no doubt a few bottles of something to keep the merriment flowing!

But it is easy to forget whilst in this festive flurry that their are lots of folk out there that have already tightened those belts as far as they can, they may have lost their job recently or have just not been able to make ends meet with the income being stretched beyond breaking point and this is where the Trussell Trust come in.

The Trussell Trust has been going for several years now, collecting food and many other items at various food banks across the country and then distributing it to those who need the support all year round, but for the Trussell Trust this becomes even more poignant as we near Christmas, who likes to hear of kids starving at any time but more so at the festive season and especially in this modern age and indeed in the UK!

The Trussell Trust has been superbly supported this year by an overwhelming amount of generous donations from the public and a great deal of media coverage too, this has meant that they have been able to help out so many more families with food parcels and gifts, but this also meant that there were quite a few more deliveries to do too!

A world of furniture has had the privilege of helping the Trussell Trust at Christmas for the past couple of years delivering these parcels and it is always a very humbling experience, those of us that were delivering on Friday were greeted by people from all walks of life, young or old, mums, dads and families who were all so appreciative of these small boxes of food that I felt a little guilty that we were not able to give them more. One little boy was so made up when he saw a big box with a Turkey in it that he started running around his dads kitchen with such joy, whooping and a hollering, it was great to see.

I thank the Trussell Trust and all of their hard work, which has allowed us here at A world of furniture to be a small part of such a wonderful organisation,  not only does it make me appreciate more the things that I have,  but also a better understanding of those less fortunate and a great reminder of exactly what Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas and a very prosperous happy New Year to you all!

You may recall from previous posts that A world of furniture has been supporting the Forestry Commission for 3 years or so now by donating money to help in the replanting of our woodlands far and wide an we have to date helped in the replanting over well over 55,000  trees, with a mixture of soft and hardwoods, evergreen and deciduous in many locations including the New Forest, Savernake Forest and many other locations in the south and further afield.

The reason we do this is to try and lessen our environmental impact as although we do our best to source our furniture from manufacturers and wholesalers who gather their raw materials from sustainable plantations (and the majority of these have been able to provide us with the certification to help prove this sourcing), this in itself is sometimes not enough as it is difficult to always accurately determine the timbers exact source, so to underline these efforts A world of furniture decided to embark on another method of lessening our impact and so for every piece of furniture you buy we will plant a tree.

But a couple of years ago we also decided that you lucky folk could also help out by planting your very own Christmas tree, so pop in and grab yours – also while your at it don’t forget to enter our great competition – a prize draw to go into the woodland at Stourhead for a days Bushcrafting, again no purchase necessary just fill in the form and we will let you know on the 22nd of December when we do the draw if you are the lucky winner – good luck!

A world of furniture has a long history of being a little different than the rest and this is no exception, we are offering a few lucky folk the experience of a life time with our associates Countrylore Bushcraft with a days outing into the wilderness to learn a little about the world of Bushcraft.

Now as a few of you may be aware this was something that a couple of us here at A world of furniture had the pleasure of experiencing in the early part of this year, I still remember the feeling of joyful regression back to my youth as we started to prepare the ground to build our shelter, followed by the utter jubilation when the group then managed to light the fire, followed by a feast of ponassed fish and curried pheasant (we did get a bit Heston at this point!) and then a spot of spoon carving…… a fun filled and very interesting day!

What is on offer is a the chance for you to be joined by 5 friends or family to spend a day in the woodland in Stourhead just outside Frome. You will be treated to some great instruction from Mark, who is incredibly enthusiastic in everything that he does and no more so than with his Bushcrafting talents which makes for a highly entertaining day and although it may differ slightly from what I have described from my own experience it will not be too far from this and will be an engaging and very interesting day.

Lunch will be provided and drinks will also be available, all you need to bring with you is some sturdy foot wear, sensible clothing and a keen sense of adventure, so if you have a hankering for the wild then pop into the store, fill out your details and enter the competition and who knows it could be you!

The closing date for entries is on the 20th of December with the draw taking place on the 22nd of December so get your entries in quick and even if it is not your cup of tea – it would make a great Christmas present!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Cubist 3′ x 3′ extending Oak Table has been the favourite of the week down here in the Poole Furniture Store. Available in the following set for a stunning £499 (link) or alone for just £349. Not to mention all the other table and chair sets in our ‘Six of the Best Sale’.

Pop in and have a chat with our staff. We have a great choice of Oak and Pine furniture at the moment and our Friendly Staff are always happy to help.

So first up for introduction is Charles, the level head of the operation here in Chandlers Ford and keeper of the sanity, a keen DIYer and gardener (although he will not thank me for putting that on here I am sure his wife Denise will make the most of it!!) from a background in retail with a family run shop in Eastleigh, he knows his onions and he also makes a damn good cup of coffee!

Ben is up next under the spot light, this is a man who knows a little of everything an encyclopaedia of information that will keep the most avid of pub quiz goers well stocked on info for even the toughest of rounds – or the most obscure! He also has passions other than that of the font of all knowledge and that is trains, the merest mention of a 4 4 2 formation and he will start foaming at the mouth and we will be treated to a train related monologue for the best part of an hour if allowed, but we all now much more versed in the goings on of the steam engine!

Ross is the man on the van, comedy genius, lover of porridge in the morn and can build a wardrobe in the blink of an eye, the merest wave of his cordless power tool and the object of assembly will be finely fettled and ship shape before your very eyes! But Ross does have a strange side and you will often find him in the car park after hours doing a spot of exercising - this usually takes the form of him pumping up the tyre on his car….. most people would have by now joined a gym and repaired the tyre…..

We then have our new recruits Kevin and Matt, both of whom are fitting in quite nicely here at Chandlers Ford, Kev with two children to keep him out of mischief still finds the energy to cycle into work every day and admits to playing golf with his handicap coming in at…. well playing at all it seems! Matt is a fairly quiet guy until, it seems a days delivering with Ross is endured – not sure what those guys get up to on the van but he is sure full o beans by the time they get back! He also has a son which no doubt keeps him busy and will probably follow in his fathers footsteps of being a keen motocross rider, we have yet to see him ride (Matt not his son!) but if he rides like he drives we could be in for a very entertaining event!

Then last of all there’s me, Alan, keen motorcycle enthusiast, not so keen DIYer, father of two great boys Joshua and James, with the three of us kept in line by my lovely wife Jude. I have had the pleasure of working for A world of furniture for well over a decade now and it is because of a team of people like the ones I have mentioned above that have a made it an absolute pleasure to come to work every day – but not only do they make it a joy for me to come to work, they also make it a pleasurable experience for our customers to.

A world of furniture is made up of lots of teams like our one here at Chandlers Ford and no doubt over the next few weeks you will see a couple of pages hitting the blog with an insight into the other colourful characters that reside at the other stores, also a few pictures will follow as I remarked on before, but these may take a little longer to come by….. now where did I put that camo net and hide….

Cleaner, more inviting, a little less Pound Shop and a bit more, well…… John Lewisesque is not too far from the mark, alright I suppose I am over egging it just slightly, I mean the budget was slightly leaner than that of the Lewis machine but I reckon that you will like the improvements.

New carpet has been laid, (I think that carpet supremo Lenn at Salisbury would approve our efforts, although we got more carpet glue on ourselves than on the floor!) with a better layout of some nice oak furniture room sets. Further to the home improvements some panelling has been erected too, to cover over the rather industrial racking that we had on display before, this has been covered in some sumptuous fabrics to give a lovely back drop to the furniture, (I do believe that I have over night been infected with Lawrence Llewlynie-itiss complete with ruffles and chiffon!).

Canterbury and Vancouver Oak Furniture

The next step this week is to rearrange the lighting with the aid of some daredevil manoeuvres atop some scaffolding, bungey ropes and  some tight rope walking, so if you have an afternoon free this week and like the idea of watching an event that would be a good cross between the circus and You’ve Been Framed then I do advise that you book early because it’s going to be one hell of a show – I wonder if Melinda Messenger is free again….?

Salisbury Oak Furniture

So there you have it an update on the continued efforts by all of the A world of furniture team to make your shopping experience that little bit more comfortable, a huge revamp of Salisbury recently with their complete overhaul of both the showrooms and even more room sets and displays (although I think they are just being greedy now – just how much furniture do you need to display….. ok, ok its just jealousy plain and simple!) Blandford and Poole have also seen some fantastic transformations over the last few months again with some great decoration and superb room displays really showing off the best that we have to offer and now it is our turn to show off our make over skills, still a little way to go yet but certainly a massive improvement so far – modesty never was a strong point for me ;0)!

Opus Oak Furniture Range

Further updates will be along in due course, but in the mean time look out for a personal introduction from all of the stores due soon – a little peak into the movers, the shakers, the individuals that give each store its character so watch out for this exciting new mug shot gallery at Who are we – meet the team!