Edward Oakley obituary

My friend Edward Oakley, who has died aged 78, headed Obeetee, India’s leading carpet and rug company. His family had a long connection with India, having first established their hand-knotted carpet business in the 19th century, in Mirzapur, a town (now a city) on the banks of the Ganges in the state of Uttar Pradesh.However it was Edward who modernised the operation of the company by erecting a mechanical dye plant and centralising the finishing and packing. He insisted on the highest qua