Business Hour
James Dunne is the third generation of the Dunne family at the helm of successful Blackburn company Prestige Beds, writes Gail Bailey
Prestige Beds was founded in 1959 by James Dunne’s grandfather, after whom he was named: “On leaving the RAF my grandad began working for a furniture company,” explains Operations Director James. “He wanted to begin his own business and noticed a gap in the market for a specialist bed company – and so Prestige Beds was born, the first of its kind in the country.”
The family-owned company has a proud heritage spanning more than six decades, and now has five stores including warehouses in Blackburn, Preston, Burnley and Hyndburn providing the North West with the same high level of service they have done for over half a century. This growth has meant an increase in staff and the company now employs 27 people across all their stores in sales as well as warehousing, deliveries and most recently their in-house marketing team.
Today Prestige Beds work with some of the business’s top suppliers, such as Hypnos, Harrison Spinks, Tempur, Vispring, Sealy, Sleepeezee and Relyon and stocks a comprehensive range of over 1,000 beds and mattresses across their stores.
James was Blackburn born and bred and educated locally at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, spending summer holidays working in the business as a ‘drivers’ mate’ helping with deliveries: “I went to Manchester University briefly, but my heart was in the family business, so I returned, and my grandad encouraged me to be involved in the company and become a part of it,” explains James.
After spending four years working as a driver James moved into sales and marketing before he progressed to his current role as Operations Director four years ago: “It has been a huge benefit to have worked ‘hands-on’ in the company from grass roots up and gain experience in all aspects of the business,” he says.
Prestige Beds still has the same ethos at its’ core that has enabled it to grow over the years into the success it is today: “My grandad ensured the business was customer centric. Our reputation is based on our unwavering focus on our customers and always offering a first-rate service,” James says.
“My grandad introduced a free delivery service, which still stands today along with our team assembling beds in the room of choice and taking the old one away which is re-cycled. Consistency is absolutely key and maintaining high standards threads through the whole team – we have a very low turnover of staff and most of the team have been with us a number of years.”
James is obviously kept busy but outside of work has a huge passion for football and is a big fan of his beloved local club Blackburn Rovers: “We are proud to be in Blackburn and have been a long-standing corporate sponsor of the team and this season are happy to be commercial partners,” he says.
Prestige Beds are successful because they don’t stand still and James is always looking to the future: “We are launching our new website, which we’ve been working on for the last 18 months and further expansion is always at the forefront of our minds. We know there is a demand for high quality bed specialists in other towns and hope to further expand.”
In March this year Prestige Beds opened a store on Hyndburn Retail Park: “This was initially a temporary outlet for us, and our first venture on a retail park. However, it has been so successful that we are now keeping the shop there!” James says.
Very much a family affair, James’ father Joe is Managing Director in the business and his younger brother now works in the sales department too.
The exceptional service from James and his team is evident with a recent review stating: “I cannot recommend this company highly enough. Very friendly and amenable with great product knowledge, great service, great staff – an all-round brilliant company.”
