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10
Dec 2022
Meet Harrogate's unlikely TikTok star
If you were asked to guess which Harrogate business was leading the way on TikTok, a traditional gentleman's outfitters owned by a man approaching 60 might not be the first place that came to mind.
But Rhodes Wood, a cornerstone of town centre shopping for three generations, has become a TikTok sensation since venturing on to the social media platform about five months ago. One video of owner Jeremy Beaumont showing how to tie a tie has had 10.8 million views.
The stats aren't just impressive — they have translated into an uplift in sales from around the world, prompted two TV appearances and encouraged some Harrogate shoppers who might have felt a little intimidated by entering such a high end shop to give it a go.
Mr Beaumont's son Charles, who was 19 at the time, persuaded him to give it a go and since then their short videos combining practical advice with fun have proved a worldwide hit.
The video on how to tie a Windsor knot attracted one million views within a day and has now been watched 10.8 million times.
Mr Beaumont shows his shop's TikTok account.
One video shows Mr Beaumont, a former martial arts practitioner with remarkable flexibility for a man of 59, perform a spinning back kick.
He baulks at the suggestion he is some kind of TikTok expert or social media influencer. He admits he hasn't a clue about the intricacies of TikTok and seems slightly baffled by his success:
Rhodes Wood, on Parliament Street, sells classic menswear and vintage luggage and Mr Beaumont's specialism in these niche fields gives him an edge over many retailers.
Nevertheless, he feels other businesses ought to consider TikTok instead of writing it off it as a fad among young people without money. Like other social media, it is evolving beyond that. He said:
Mr Beaumont admits engaging with people who comment on his posts is time consuming. He often wakes in the night and chats with people in America or Australia.
But the effort is worth it. He plans to set up online sales on his shop's website — something he has not found cost effective in the past — and direct TikTok followers to it.
But social media fame sits uncomfortably:
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