Forest
Hill Society support, promote and encourage local businesses. In each
newsletter we plan to interview successful businesses in the community who are
helping to make Forest Hill a vibrant and successful town centre.
Helen Wicks from the Forest Hill Society recently met
local businessman John Parris, owner of Parris Cues who manufacture snooker
cues in Church Vale Forest Hill.
Q. How did you get into the snooker cue trade?
It
started as a hobby, I played snooker and started experimenting with repairs/
fiddling with snooker cues. I was asked by others to repair their cues and it
progressed from there. It’s quite a niche market and there are not a lot of
competitors just small ‘one man bands’. Obviously larger shops sell mass
produced cues much more cheaply, but like any other sport, if you are serious
and/or talented, bespoke equipment is recommended.
Q. Why Forest Hill?
I
started in Bromley about 30 years ago. We outgrew our premises in Bromley and
were looking for a larger site, and then found this building in Church Vale
SE23 which was bigger with good transport links by road and rail into central
London. Our premises in Forest Hill are very modest and many of our
distinguished customers expect to see a grand showroom are surprised to find
the business tucked away in the back streets of Forest Hill in an unglamorous
shop. We are established here now, we like it – we have no plans to move.
Q. How many people do you employ?
It’s
a family business run by myself and my wife and my son looks after the IT side
of things. We employ 8 people including an apprentice and I will soon be
looking for a second apprentice to work on a new leather snooker case line that
I am introducing. I am fortunate to have a skilled and loyal workforce with
very little staff turnover producing high quality cues.
Q. Who are your customers?
At
the beginning we were basically providing cues to the UK market. During the
1980’s snooker was very popular in England…..thanks to Steve Davis and Jimmy
White.
We
are now a global business and 60% of our business is export. Our biggest
customers are from China particularly Hong Kong, and also Brazil, Canada and
Australia. The Crown Prince of Brunei has bought cues and flew me over to
deliver them. He has even visited the showroom arriving in 3 limos …blocking
Church Vale!
The
internet has facilitated this success. We have invested a lot in our website
and this has been an important way to reach the world market.
The
fortunes of Parris Cues prospered during the 1980’s snooker boom and were
further lifted by the Sporting Events Promoter Barry Hearn, who as chairman of
the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and the subsequent
controlling interest in the commercial arm World Snooker Limited, revitalized
the game from 6 tournaments a year to tournaments somewhere in the world every
week.
Q. Any well known customers?
Yes,
snooker players; Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry,
Stephen Maguire, John Higgins, and Neil Robertson. Other celebrities who have
bought cues include: Ronnie Wood, Damien Hirst and Ian Wright.
Have
a look at our photos on the website!
Q. So how did you manage to get such big names on your
books?
It
all started when I cornered Steve Davis at a tournament… I offered to produce a
replica of a cue that he damaged in a tournament…and he liked it! From this
stroke of good luck, I built up my reputation on recommendations and to add to
this Steve has become a good friend.
Q. How many snooker cues do you make on average every
year?
We
manufacture about 1500 cues a year.
Q. What materials do you use?
I
source wood for the cues from all over the world, exotic wood mainly, ash and
maple from North America in addition to British plum and pear tree wood.
Q. Snooker was very popular - Why do you think are
there no clubs in Forest Hill?
There
were three clubs within walking distance of Forest Hill station, two of which
were in Perry Vale behind the station and one at Brockley Rise... a real shame
they closed…I believe this was because of high rents, combined with drop in
popularity, possibly also because smoking ban and gaming regulations took their
toll on profits. However most pubs are not big enough for snooker tables but do
have pool tables – incidentally, we also make cues for pool and American Pool!
Q. Can you give any advice to a budding entrepreneur
wanting to start up a business in Forest Hill?
Yes,
find a niche market product that you are passionate about and spend as much as
you can on a website to promote it!
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