Tapi yesterday officially opened the Harris family’s first flooring store as part of the chain, as it celebrated Lord Harris’s forthcoming 80th birthday.
101 Peckham High Street in London was the site of Charles Harris’s first shop, which he opened in 1951.
The store – just 333sqft – highlight’s the chain’s online ordering capacity and will also be used as a training centre.
Lord Harris told Interiors Monthly that he recalled climbing the spiral staircase to the first floor where the carpets were kept and running up and down the narrow stairs to the basement.
He also talked about being scared of his task of taking down the rugs which were displayed outside the front of the store as he had to climb up above the store’s signage to reach them.
Lord Harris celebrates his birthday on 15 September. The store contains a number of displays highlighting his involvement in the flooring industry.