They’re not only about protective gear anymore; this little gem has branched out into other services. This week Inksplott interviews Graham Thomas about long-standing Splott business, Safewear, which is neatly tucked into a unit on Lewis Road, opposite Maltings Park.
Inksplott: Hi Graham, thank you for being interviewed for Inksplott. How long has Safewear been here? I’ve driven down this road umpteen times and never seen the shop!
Safewear: For the best part of thirty years.
Inksplott: And you’re open to members of the public, not just trade?
Safewear: Yes, open to the public. We sell mainly workwear but it’s also now we provide an embroidery and printing service, so we do a lot of printing on T-Shirts, embroidering on workwear, clothes for stag and hen night parties, sports clubs. It’s a branch out of the business. We do a lot of leisurewear as well as workwear.
Inksplott: I spy a load of boots over there. Are they safety wear?
Safewear: Yes, safety boots, helmets, high visibility gear, glasses, goggles; all the PPE stuff.
Inksplott: Is it the same price for members of the public who walk in or do Trade get discount?
Safewear: There is a discount for trade and obviously some of our account customers get different prices to trade depending on what they buy and who we have contracts with. Customers negotiate their own prices.
Inksplott: Great, thanks. Why should people come in here instead of, say, Go Outdoors or one of the other big franchises in town?
Safewear: Probably because our prices are really competitive! Like I say, we cover a range of goods from sportswear to leisurewear to workwear; we cover everything that you need to go on site (building site) and we cover it here in one fell swoop.
Inksplott: What’s your one speciality? If you had to pick one thing in the shop that stands out.
Safewear: Just one speciality? Boots. Boots are the things that gets people through the door.
Inksplott: Tell us a secret or something about Splott that we won’t know.
Safewear: Well the biggest thing that has changed over the last twenty years or so is the steel works going from over by here (points towards Miskin Park). East Moors, the old alloy steelworks plant. That’s probably the biggest change on the landscape; from industrial to residential. That used to be industrial there and now it’s all flats and houses.
Inksplott: That’s great – thank you for the interview; that’s been really useful.
You can find Safewear here:
Safewear UK, Unit 1, Lewis Road, Splott, CF24 5EB
Telephone: 0800 1975257
Email: sales@safewearuk.com
Check out the website here: http://www.safewearuk.com/
