FURNITURE and carpet store York House Interiors became the first York business to adopt the revolutionary Simply Barefoot automated flooring retailing system when it unveiled the console at its 3,000 sq ft Hull Road store this week.

The Simply Barefoot concept was developed by Pockington entrepreneur Richard Finch, who launched the carpet retailing system in September.

The system uses the very latest technology that allows customers to design their own rooms and recreate their own personal colour schemes in order to choose the best type of floor covering to suit their home.

John Jones, said; "We have been retailing furniture, interiors and flooring for 18 years, and when the Simply Barefoot system was launched we saw the opportunity to offer our customers a wider range of flooring at lower prices and with better service than most traditional retailers can offer. The fact that this idea was developed by Richard just up the road is a bonus."

The consoles store more than 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 getting quotes..

Customers can print quotations from the console themselves. The retailer then checks the measurements and samples at the customer's home before confirming the order.

Gavin Austin, director at Simply Barefoot, said: "The system has been developed to give the public a far better way to buy carpets, with state-of-the art software and touch screen technology that means you can see just how the flooring will look with your colour schemes.

"It is about time the flooring industry was shaken up and customers were considered, and that was the motivation in combining the best technology and old- fashioned service to deliver huge reductions and a better way to buy flooring."

The first 30 units are being placed in a variety of soft furnishing, new show homes and DIY retailers across the UK. A further 300 consoles are in production and will be "live" by the end of the year, with a 3,000 unit roll-out planned during 2004.

Updated: 11:08 Monday, December 08, 2003