FORTY years ago John Chapman started making fishing, shooting and luxury bags on the family kitchen table in Burgh by Sands and this week he returned to the company he founded to see how it had progressed and meet some of his former employees.
Chapman Bags now employs 35 people at its factory in Tannery Lane, Harraby, and sells its quality leather and canvas products all over the world, has a base in London and customers in the royal family.
In recent years it has doubled its turnover and is currently recruiting to expand its team.
Its success has been built on the principles established by John Chapman all those years ago with 'a relentless focus on quality'.
He sold the business in 2006, but it still bears his name and when he returned to the factory he was able to see how the company continues to grow. Its range is being extended and they have recently opened a design office to work on new products including handbags.
The firm has had to expand its factory a number of times to create more space for its machinists and storing the materials such as the Italian leather that arrive in ever larger quantities.
The visit was part of John’s 80th birthday celebrations and he was given a tour of the factory along with his daughter, Kate North, and wife, Margaret.
Among those keen to wish John a happy birthday was Philip Moore who works as a cutter and was one of John Chapman’s first employees.
They enjoyed reminiscing about their time together and Philip recalled how John once left the factory on a sales trip, asking him to answer the phone if it rang.
Sure enough, the phone rang a while later - and it was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the line demanding bags for a trade exhibition.
“It’s lovely to see John again. He was a great man to work for and you could always sit down and have a chat with him. It’s always been a happy place to work,” Philip said.
John was presented with an 80th birthday cake in the shape of a Chapman bag and chief executive Cedric Stonex told him: “It is an honour to have you here, John. This is your legacy that you have left us in charge of.”
John joked that as he was turning 80 he was ‘just entering middle age’ and told the Chapman team: “It has been lovely to see everyone again. I have been very impressed with everything I’ve seen - it’s lovely to be back.”
Next year Chapman Bags will be celebrating its 40th anniversary and is hoping to recruit more machinists as its order book continues to grow.
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