Ian and Mandy Westcott suffered a huge loss when their business Betta Home Living burnt down in June last year.
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The couple were devastated by the fire, but set up temporary premises in the former newsagency in Clarinda Street.
Now they are officially back - bigger and better than ever before.
The magnificent Parkes Betta Home Living held its grand opening, with a special ribbon cutting ceremony in front of family, friends and loyal customers.
The store was officially opened by Graeme Cunningham, the Chief Executive Officer of Betta Home Living Australia.
Ian Westcott addressed the crowd in emotional terms.
“We are standing here due to a series of events. There is a saying that from a bad turn of events comes a good time and prosperity.
“The bad for us was on June 22, 2013, when we had the misfortune of having our business destroyed by fire.
“After the smoke had settled, we had some big decisions to make. Was this a sign for a change?
“Mandy and I contemplated a sea change, moving north or moving south, we looked at different businesses to buy.
“You name it we thought and looked about doing it.
“We were totally lost. But the answer was in our own backyard of Parkes.
“We looked into the future opportunity that Parkes had to offer.
“We considered things like, our strong rural sector, the new hospital, the inland rail project, extensions to the Southern Cross Village, the new Graceland’s Parkes Garden Estate retirement resort, and the ongoing longevity of Northparkes Mines.
“We looked at Sensis data, sporting facilities, easy access to Sydney, the list went on.
“But the other major factor was all the great people.
“I’ve been a part of this community for 38 years and in this time I have come to realise that family and great friends are priceless.
“We recognised that Parkes is where we wanted to be. Parkes is our home.”
In deciding on the design for the building, Ian said they had one thought in mind.
“We wanted to bring the city look and range to us all here in the bush.
I think we achieved that!
“Since opening we have increased our staff and have put on two more full-time employees.
“Our trading hours have increased and we are now trading seven days a week.
Our customers now have every opportunity to visit no matter what their schedule is.”
