A WELL-KNOWN Pocklington businessman has launched a revolutionary new flooring retail concept, which he says could undercut shop prices by an average of 30 per cent.

Richard Finch, 36, has so far spent £500,000 developing and installing high-tech standalone consoles, with which customers can make a choice of carpet or laminate, test colour schemes on a screen reflecting the size of their rooms, and print out quotations.

The new business, called Simply Barefoot, has already installed 30 of the consoles in DIY shops, estate agents and new home sites throughout England where they will "go live" by the end of the year.

But Mr Finch, co-founder of the separate, massively successful expatshopping.com, plans to roll out his console concept to 300 places by Christmas with another £500,000 investment.

In anticipation, he has launched a retail carpet venture based at a 6,500 sq ft warehouse on the Pocklington Industrial Estate and employed ten people, including fitters, estimators and warehousemen.

Their numbers, he believes, could double if his projections prove correct - namely that after the first trading year turnover will be about £5 million, then zoom to at least £15 million if the console is rolled out to 3,000 venues the following year.

"There is already big interest by developers wanting to use the console at their new homes sites and by a huge national retailer," he said.

The consoles store more than actual 250 flooring samples in space-saving drawers, and incorporate state-of-the-art touch screen technology and room design software that allows customers to visualise rooms decorated to their own tastes, and 'virtually' test the carpets with their colour schemes before obtaining quotations.

Customers print quotations from the consoles, and retailers simply book qualified fitters to measure and check samples at customers' properties (within three working days) before taking orders and payment. Delivery and fitting, if required, is also booked via the company's head office in Pocklington within two weeks.

Mr Finch, managing director, said big price cuts were possible because of low overheads, thanks to low staff numbers and storage costs. "The bigger margins mean an average discount of about 30 per cent but one example at the upper extreme is a brand of vinyl flooring which retails in shops at £18.99 but which we are selling at £9.99."

Mr Finch helped to start expatshopping.com, the massively-expanding shopping website for expats hungering for foods and products from home. It has since extended into five actual retail stores in major European cities. Its projected turnover this year is £5 million.

Updated: 09:40 Tuesday, September 02, 2003