Fifty up for Booth’s Carpets- firms three generations celebrate five decades of business

Booths Carpets and Furnishings held a celebration day at its two shops on Garden Street in Wakefield last month to mark five decades in business.

The company was started in 1963 by Gerry Booth, 79, who went into the trade as a carpet fitter straight after leaving school.

Mr Booth, who retired from the firm last year, said: “Back then they used to send a man from the labour exchange to your school with a list of jobs.

“My family always wanted me to learn a trade.”

Now three generations of the Booth family work for the company, which supplies carpets, flooring, curtains, bedroom furniture and sofas.

Mr Booth added: “We have got grandchildren coming into the company so there is going to be another era hopefully.”

Mr Booth’s son Robert joined the company in 1984 and is the current managing director.

He said the 2008 recession had forced Booths, along with other companies linked to the building trade, to rationalise its operation.

Robert said: “We’ve been through five years of recession which without a doubt have been the most difficult in the company’s history.

“We have had to rationalise the business but we have come through it.”

He said despite the tough climate, business was picking up for the firm, helped by the company’s well-known brand and the hard work of family members.

Robert said: “Every member of the workforce is a Booth.”

The firm has even retained customers who remember its early days, Mr Booth said.

He added: “Customers that used to come in the shop back in the 60s are still coming in now, 50 years on.

“Business is picking up. We have been busy since July and we’re cautiously optimistic.”

Mr Booth said Booths retained its tradition of face-to-face customer service despite modernisation over the years.

He said: “People can reach us through our website but we don’t sell online, because we offer a bespoke service.”