Larry Speare

Larry Speare sells carpets, rugs & beds with same-day delivery but ‘Everybody knows thaaaaat!’ Instead, we wanted to delve into Plymouth business legend, Mr Speare’s past, uncover his secrets within the industry and not failing to mention those memorable radio jingles. The majority of 89-year-olds would be 30 years deep into their retirement with their feet up but not Mr Speare. Larry Speare still comes in regularly to ensure his beloved company is running smoothly and he’s not afraid to step back into his shopfloor shoes from time to time. 57 years in business and Mr Speare is still going strong with his wife Shirley and their two sons Kenny and Henry who are both directors, helping to carry it into the 21st century.

Mr Speare was born in Plymouth in 1933 as one of 6 children. At the age of 15, Larry worked for the Co-op in the carpet department for three years after being conscripted into the Royal Marines, just before his 18th birthday. He served for 2 years with 45 commandos in Singapore and Borneo before going back to work for the Co-op as a salesman for vinyl and carpets.

Larry & Shirley Speare

Mr Speare married his now ex-wife and they had two children, Amanda and David. Looking for a change of scenery and a different way of life, Mr Speare and his ex-wife emigrated to Virginia, America in 1954 where he did some store work for PX Canteens. Whilst he was in the States, he had some amazing experiences like riding horseback over the mountains and passing his driving test and then subsequently driving across America. 11 years in America and Mr Speare’s ex-wife missed the British way of life which meant they both moved back to the UK in 1965.

A few years later, the marriage collapsed which forced Mr Speare to focus on his career with his full attention. After working for an independent furniture store in Portsmouth and being let down on numerous occasions with pay rises, he decided he wanted to work for himself from that moment onwards.

Charles Edwards was a carpet representative who worked closely with Mr Speare over the years and the two combined their knowledge and work ethic to build their own company called ‘Speare and Edwards’. Speare and Edwards was a hypermarket selling furniture, carpets and beds and eventually rented 21 stores across Plymouth and the West Country. Their 22nd premise came with the opportunity to purchase land with a garage and flats on Rendle Street. Sound familiar? This is the early stages of the 30,000-square-foot store they own today.

Speare & Edwards’ delivery van

Mr Speare approached Charles with the idea to go their separate ways after 16 years of being business partners. Mr Speare was offered the building on Rendle Street and shortly after, converted it into a store with a licence to sell. There was a plot of land behind and in front of this building which he also purchased and renovated them into one giant store with a warehouse and car park. He also changed the name to what we all know today ‘Larry Speare Ltd’.

In 1982 whilst digging up the foundations to create the car park at the front of the building, they discovered a WWII air raid shelter that covered 18,000 square feet. They realised the extent of the air raid shelter when they were initially drilling into the ground and noticed it became too easy to drill. Unbeknown to them, they had just found the entrance to the shelter followed by some white painted stairs. Larry tells us it’s still all there, completely untouched but he’d need to drill a hole in the corner of the car park to access it.

Mr Speare finding the WWII air raid shelter

With Larry’s competent salesman attitude on top of working 7 days a week, he built the business from the ground up and reinvented the way people buy carpets and beds. Very fast delivery and affordable prices have always been the priority for Larry Speare, ‘We sell what people want and deliver it to them, it’s as easy as that.’

A few years after the build, Larry moved house to Yealmpton where he had a beautiful garden with an orchard. Shirley and her mother lived close by and often asked Mr Speare if they could pick some apples which lead to Larry asking her on a date. Fast forward a few years and they were married in 1981 with three children, Kenny, Henry and Taffeta.

Shirley has now been working for the company for 36 years, selling on the shop floor and being Larry’s right-hand woman. Before we got to the store for the interview at 11 am, Shirley told us she just put through a bed sale and organised delivery for it that afternoon! Their two sons have a natural ability to sell as they follow in their father’s footsteps and will eventually take on the business themselves.

From left to right: Kenny, Larry, Shirley & Henry

Mr Speare was not afraid to test the boundaries of advertising. His most noted adverts were those heard on the local radio stations. Mr Speare was a big fan of the humorous jingles that he liked to have on the radio every half an hour. They never failed to get stuck in your head whether you liked it or not, even children were singing the tunes.

He worked very closely with his good friend and radio host, David Bassett and they used to have a lot of fun creating the radio jingles and coming up with entertaining slogans. The radio adverts were self-written and voiced by Larry Speare himself which soon became one of the most iconic radio adverts in Plymouth, in turn creating quite the name for himself.

We’d like to remind you of Mr Speare’s favourite radio jingle and it went a little something like…

“oooooh
I’ve got carpets, beds and furniture
I’ve got carpets, beds and furniture
I’ve got carpets, beds and furniture
and my name is Larry Speare”

Mr Speare making his famous jingles

Due to national radio stations taking over the South West and advertising standards becoming stricter, Mr Speare has reduced his advertisement and maintains his customers through word of mouth and social media.

After creating a name for himself in Plymouth, he now gets recognised in public if he’s wearing his iconic suit; the encounter is often followed by a handshake, so he tells us. Mr Speare has also met lots of lovely characters himself, his most memorable customer was comedian, Frankie Howard, who continued to be a regular customer and a good friend to Larry.

After 57 years in business, Larry tells us, ‘It has been good fun and I have laughed a lot, drank a lot, smoked a lot, but the short of it is, I’m still working and I still love it!’

It’s clear to us that Larry still has the same care and passion he had since he first started. Following his knee operation 12 months ago, Larry has had to take a slower pace of life which has given his sons, Kenny and Henry the opportunity to retain the business in the family for years to come. Larry is truly humbled knowing that the business he worked tirelessly to grow will be kept in safe and
loving hands.

NEW! Now you can also order from their website and have it delivered to your home without having to come into the store.

www.larryspeare.co.uk
Tel: 01752 220964 Email: info@larryspeare.co.uk