Independent furniture retailer Sopha has announced that Mike Fear, founder of M&F Carpets and Flooring, is joining the business to head up a brand-new flooring department.
Mike, who has run M&F Carpets with his wife Fiona for over a decade, has built a strong reputation locally for his hands-on customer service and personal approach. The move follows a period of growth that has seen the demands of running the family flooring business increase significantly, often leaving Mike with long working hours behind the scenes as well as in the showroom.
By joining Sopha, Mike will continue to focus on the customer-facing side of flooring sales, both in-store and through home consultations, while benefiting from the operational support of the Sopha team for ordering and day-to-day administration. This new set-up is designed to ensure that Mike can continue to deliver his high level of customer service while also allowing Fiona to return to her original career in teaching, launching a new local tutoring business.
Both Mike and Sopha co-founder Matthew Scott are no strangers to the flooring industry. Before establishing their own businesses, Mike worked for S&A Carpets while Matthew worked for Scott’s Furnishings, both alongside Matthew’s father, Tony Scott, who for many years was a co-owner of the well-known Somerset carpet and flooring retailer. Their shared background in the trade has come full circle, with the pair now working side-by-side once again in Highbridge.
Matthew Scott said: “Mike is so well-known and respected locally for his unmatched personal style of customer service, and I’m really excited to be working alongside him again. Mike was close to walking away from his business, and it’s great to have found this opportunity together. Bringing flooring and furniture together under one roof feels like the perfect fit for both Sopha and for Mike’s customers.”
M&F Carpets recently marked its tenth anniversary, having first opened in Abingdon Street, Burnham, before moving to larger premises in Highbridge. The new flooring department at Sopha will take shape over the coming weeks, with the only change customers expected to initially notice being the name at the top of their paperwork.
