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Beat the Competition: Stuart Wiggins
Knowing your
customer
Stuart Wiggins making a delivery of a 50in plasma TV
Stuart Wiggins has won the title of the Best Small CE Retailer in this year’s Independent
Business Awards 2009. The cornerstone of his success is the very close relationship he
has with his customers. He explained to Anna Ryland how the location of his company,
based in a rural Northumberland valley, shapes his business strategy.
Stuart Wiggins has been running an last 15 years. His wife, Audrey Wiggins his operations. He doesn’t deal with
electrical independent business, in does the bookkeeping and staff payroll for manufacturers directly “as I need flexibility in
Rothbury, at the heart of rural the company. terms of size of orders and prompt delivery.
Northumberland, for the last 20 years. In Rothbury is a small village off the beaten I use distributors and wholesalers as and
1967, he joined the parent company, The track, deep in Northumberland. “Its only when I need it.”
Seaton Valley Relay, which specialized in claim to fame is Cragside House, the home His main competitor, apart from the
sound and vision line rentals, as an of an eminent Victorian, Lord Amstrong, internet, is a large agricultural cooperative
apprentice radio and TV engineer. Having and the first house in the world lit by shop twelve miles away which sells brown
worked for the company for twelve years, hydroelectricity.” and white goods.
during which it had undergone several Apart from retailing consumer electronics
transformations, Stuart bought its Rothbury products and domestic appliances, the Local means special
branch (which he had run since 1967). In company specializes in aerial installations – The rural location of Stuart Wiggins’
1989, he started trading under his own not only in private houses, but also in company determines his business
name “as everybody knew me as such”. communal buildings, caravan sites, hotels approach and the relationship he has with
Stuart employs two full-time and two and guesthouses. The main CE brands he his customers. It is also the key to his
part-time staff (one of them has been with sells are Panasonic, Sony and Samsung, success.
them 16 years). Stuart’s right hand man, while on the white goods side he deals with “Rothbury has a big farming
who joined them straight after leaving Bosch, Hotpoint, Indesit and Whirlpool. His community. Among my customers are
school, has been working with him for the business model is determined by the size of lords, farmers, people on income support
26 The Independent Electrical Retailer December 2009
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