Telford white goods retailer hoping to compete with the big boys

Rory Palin from Telford launched Friidge two years ago, and has since steadily built up connections in the industry to allow him to grow the business and expand the range of products he offers.

Now, with supply deals with major fridge and washing machine manufacturers in his back pocket, he has opened a warehouse and offices in Stafford Park in Telford and is looking at adding further distribution centres around England in the next few weeks as he looks to grow the business around its customer service offer.

"It's a very exciting time and with an expanding economy we can expand too," Mr Palin said.

"We are snapping at the heels of the big players and want to be as big as we can.

"We are in discussions with a property company for 5,000 sq ft property in Leeds, and we plan to be in Bristol after that."

He added: "I had had some poor experiences myself when ordering white goods online.

"With white goods online ordering is the way forward, it's much easier than going to the shop yourself and trying to get items home, but we felt we could certainly do things better.

"We made enquiries, looked into how to set something like this up, and started out buying from distributors. Now we are working directly with manufacturers."

The business was launched in 2015 and has so far been financed entirely by Mr Palin – but is now into profit and is promising expansion.

Originally based in Manchester it has now moved back to Mr Palin's home town to take up the 1,000 sq ft warehouse space, with a manager and two drivers on its books.

The team is expected to expand in the coming weeks, with interviews for new drivers taking place next week.

"It has all been organic growth so far, although that's not to say we won't be looking for additional funding in the future," Mr Palin added.

"We are past the point where it was just me funding the whole business, and it's funding itself through the profit it generates. It has been a tough few years and the economy hasn't been brilliant, but it is growing slowly and we can grow with it."

"One thing we have got is a unique service, a free recycling service so when you buy a fridge or washing machine we will take it away and recycle it for free which saves about £25."