In 2014 a fire that started in the neighbouring Party Shop on Gladstone Street caused significant damage to Barlens’ customer service and showroom areas.
However, we have overcome this set-back thanks to a dedicated team of staff and 2016 is set to be bigger than ever!
Operations Manager Greg Whittle recalls the 2014 event;
“We’d just been building the Murrumbateman field days around that time and I received a phone call that the place had caught fire. We had big torrential rain which caused an electrical fire. One of our guys tried to put it out but that only made it angry.”
Since the fire Barlens has been working out of a series of demountables while a new showroom and main building areas are rebuilt.
“It’s been very frustrating for us operationally for the last year” says Greg. “It’s been trying times, we’ve been working out of a couple of little demountables and the team have really pulled together and they’ve been resilient with it. They’ve done a fantastic job; I couldn’t speak highly enough of them.”
Barlens CEO Peter Taylor looks to the silver lining of the situation in being able to build a new and improved showroom to better meet the needs of clients.
“When we complete the rebuild after the fire you’ll have a showroom where people can walk through and see all our products on offer. The product will be, as it’s always been, kept well up to date with the latest trends.”
“A showroom is really one of our selling points in allowing people to see, feel, and touch. I believe this is the right way to express our products. You can have a look at photos and you can have a look at websites, but nothing beats the actual thing.”
The new showroom is set to launch early in 2016 – stay tuned for the unveiling!
