INDEPENDENT OF THE MONTH
INDI E OF THE MONTH A ngela Reed PASSION AND A BELIEF IN OFFERING CUSTOMERS EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY WITH SOMETHING TRULY UNIQUE SETS THIS STORE APART
WORDS BY NICOLA FOLEY
furniture emporium passed down through five generations, Angela Reed is a family business in the truest sense of the term.
Proudly championing beautiful, high- quality homewares, its five-floor flagship store is a sprawling treasure trove of handpicked pieces, from stylish Conran sofas to handmade wooden bookshelves and cabinets. The current custodians are David Reed and his wife Kate, who returned to the fold in 2011 and have helped grow the brand into the thriving operation it is today, with branches in Cambridge and Saffron Walden as well as a successful online shop. “A lot of it is down to passion,” says Kate. “The family has always really believed in the business – it’s never been a chore. It’s always been something that everyone has loved to do. David and I, for example, used to work in professional rugby, but he always knew that he was going to come back and take over the family business, and that was his burning ambition.” Surviving wars, recessions and navigating ever-changing shopping habits is no mean feat, and the company has proved remarkably resilient over the course of its 140-year history, continually repolishing its brand to meet the needs of each new generation. Part of the reason for its success, believes Kate, is a steadfast commitment to exceptional quality and being able to offer customers something
truly unique compared to the big chains that dominate the high street. “I think what sets us apart is that everything is handpicked by us,” she explains. “It’s David picking everything and curating it, and he has a really good eye, as do the people who work around him. We have a good understanding of what our customers will like and what will work. “We know that they look for things that are inspirational and a bit different; things that you’re not going to find in John Lewis. It’s that personal curation – that’s what makes us different.” The pandemic has brought a new set of challenges, forcing the business to temporarily shut down in March last year and revamp its online shop on a much tighter timescale than originally planned. “It’s given us the opportunity to make some much needed changes,” says Kate. “We’ve now looked at digital marketing as a whole and brought in some really good people to help us with that. We’ve been able to broaden our market beyond just local people and we’re now sending around the UK and to Europe, too”. One benefit of lockdowns for a homewares company such as Angela Reed is that it has prompted many of us to spruce up our living spaces. As a result, business has remained strong for the company throughout the past 12 months – though Kate has noticed a shift in what kinds of
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