One of Bermuda’s biggest furniture dealers has relocated from the centre of Hamilton to Paget in order to consolidate its operation.Furniture Walk, which moved from Reid Street to Harvey Road in Paget, opened the doors of its new retail shop on Saturday.And owner Laura Mayne believes the move will enable the business to focus on its main strength of customer service.The company has gone through a tough time, having to lay off five staff or one third of its workforce over the past nine months due to the recession.Meanwhile the advent of the Internet and shopping online has hit trade hard and Ms Mayne believes that Bermuda has played its own part in the drop off in business for the retail sector.“The writing has been on the wall for quite some time,” she said. “I think we have been a cause of a lot of it ourselves (through shopping overseas and buying on the Internet).“But hopefully we can get that back - it is not going to happen overnight, but I am optimistic.”Ms Mayne said she could understand why residents chose to shop abroad or online but the cost of buying on Island was almost the same when shipping and duty were factored in.By moving to the new location the business will be all on one floor instead of being spread over two floors at the previous premises, as well as reaping the benefits of lower rents and better accessibility and parking through being out of town.It will also provide an opportunity to get back to basics and concentrate on selling with the personal touch and service its loyal customer base through its extensive list of contacts, knowledge and experience, according to Ms Mayne.A warehouse next door will allow more stock to be stored on site. The shop, which has been in business for 27 years, started life as the Sleep Shop behind the Warwick Bowl prior to moving to town and then into its former location in Reid Street, becoming Furniture Walk 12 years ago.Useful website:www.furniturewalk.bm