Looking back on 2019

Our look back at 2019 starts with us looking back a further 100 years, when Walter Hart founded our company. Back then Harts was the town’s blacksmith. Walter, who served in the Royal Field Artillery as a farrier, set up the business in 1919 after he was demobilised at the end of the Great War. I wonder if Walter would have ever imagined that his family company would still be going strong a hundred years on! So 2019 would be dominated by celebrating this landmark event. But there were also one or two other big events that would make this a year to remember for us all.

We were once again proud sponsors of New Year’s Day Vintage & Classic Vehicle Run. This fantastic event, organised by the Weymouth Vehicle Preservation Society, raises money for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance.

Philip Hart and members of the Weymouth Vehicle Preservation Society present a cheque for £3,300 to representatives of the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance.

The 2019 Housewares Innovation Awards took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on the 4th February. We were delighted to walk away not one, but two awards on night, winning Britain’s Best In-Store Demonstrations and Britain’s Best Staff Training categories.

Graham and Johnathan Hart receiving Britain's Best Staff Training Award from category sponsor Meyer Group Ltd.

Philip Hart receiving Britain's Best In-Store Demonstration Award from category sponsor Joseph Joseph.

Our centenary celebrations got underway in earnest during March. The store got a makeover with centenary bunting and banners, and celebrations began with a Centenary Breakfast Launch Event. Both the sun and crowds came out in force to join in the fun. Over 500 free bacon butties were handed out, and customers also enjoyed a cup of coffee from the Jura and Lavazza coffee machines that were being demonstrated while they shopped.

April saw us embark on the first stage of our journey to becoming a carbon neutral business. Solar panels were installed on the roof of our store by renewable energy specialists Dorset Energy Solutions.

We can now harness the sun’s energy, even on cloudy days (and we had a few of those in 2019), converting it into electricity and reducing our electricity costs. Being a green energy, solar electricity doesn't release harmful carbon dioxide, so this installation will also reduce our carbon footprint.

Any excess electricity generated is fed back to the grid.

Centenary events continued apace in May with breakfast events for bagels and juice & smoothies. Centenary wooden spoons were commissioned and given out with in-store and online purchases. Did you get one?

In June we joined the water refill scheme to help reduce plastic pollution. We are now one of 20,000+ refill stations nationwide where you can refill your water bottle for free.

As part of our 100th anniversary celebrations we joined forces with local solicitors Porter Dodson for an exclusive early evening shopping event. Philip, Johnathan and Graham hosted a very enjoyable and informative evening, discussing the history of the family company with guided tours of the shop and warehouse operations and food and drink provided by local artisan producers.

Our burgers and boogie woogie event took place Saturday 6th July. On a beautifully warm and sunny, summer’s day, the event reflected the barbecue and outdoor entertaining theme of our centenary events and also supported the town’s UK Boogie Woogie Festival, for which we were headline sponsor. Crowds flocked to the store where we handed out five hundred locally-sourced centenary burgers to the appreciative audience. A delicious boogie woogie relish was specially created for the event by Mark Hartstone, proprietor of La Fosse at Cranborne. Live music was provided by Christophe and Bruno, aka The French Boogie Woogie Boys, who played a fantastic set of foot-tapping boogie woogie. Often playing the piano at the same time, the duo played an infectious set which got people up and dancing, despite the soaring temperatures.

July also marked the end of an era as we wished Philip a happy retirement after serving 41 years as managing director of the company. A party was held to celebrate the occasion and joining Philip on the night were many of his family, friends and employees. Although Philip now has the time to do all the jobs around the house he’s been putting off all those years, his final project is to oversee the redevelopment of the store (more on that later). The new management team has many years of experience and expertise behind it. Graham Hart has stepped up to the role of MD, his brother Johnathan is now Commercial Director, David Conduit is now a director and completing the line up as Company Secretary is Kirsty Allen.

More centenary celebrations took place in August including Summer Salad and Summer Drink events.

At the end of the month work commenced on our ambitious redevelopment plan. The first stage was to undertake a series of refurbishments to the existing store which included the fitting of new LED lighting, ceilings and a new air source heat pump system. This project was part funded by Low Carbon Dorset as part of the European Regional Development Fund and will save 46.2 tonnes of CO2 each year. The main phase of the building project is now underway. Works will include the old garden shop making way for much needed parking, additional land will be developed to create a new garden shop, extra retail space, a cafe and improved customer facilities including toilets and a lift.

For once our open weekend was blessed with unseasonably warm and dry weather. As well as the usual open weekend offers there was lots to see and do including product demonstrations by the ever-popular Mal Harradine and having your picture taken with a giant KitchenAid Mixer.

At the Blackmore Vale Business Awards 19, Philip was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award to a standing ovation. To complete a great night Harts took home the Best Family Business Award.

Awards season continued with a trip to London for the Excellence in Housewares Awards. It proved to be another special evening for Philip who was presented with the Honorary Achievement Award for his 40 years service to the housewares industry.

The final phase of our centenary celebrations started with a roast meat feast where customers enjoyed a selection of roast meats in a bun.

November saw the start of our popular store demos where you can come in and see various products being demonstrated by experts. Highlights included a welcome return of former Great British Bake Off star Val Stones who helped out on the Magimix stand as well as offering signed copies of her recipe book - The Cake Whisperer.

Always keen to champion new ventures we had a milk vending machine from the Dorset Dairy Co installed in our car park. The milk is delicious and it is a great way to support a local business.

As the year, and indeed the decade, drew to a close our Christmas Cracker Event went off with a bang (pardon the pun). The event also combined our last centenary event with extended opening hours (as it was also election day). Anyone who made a purchase in-store was invited to pull a Christmas cracker to reveal a prize which ranged from an anniversary wooden spoon up to £100 of gift vouchers.

Take a look at this short film for more pictures of centenary events. Here's looking forward to an equally exciting 2020!