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Beat the Competition: Stuart Wiggins
and council housing tenants. Their needs
could be very different. But I treat all of
them the same.”
He wins and keeps his customers by
“being true to myself. My customers know
me well. Many of them come back to me
after a number of years because they had
good experience with the company and
remember us.”
At the same time, Stuart has a very clear
customer focus. “You cannot be all things
to all men. The customer is always right
but not every customer is right for you. So
you soon find out which customers are
right for you. There are some people who
look for basement bargains, where there is
no room for profit and no way of sustaining
a business. I have to be honest with them.
However, I try to give the best service I can
to anyone who comes to me.”
The company does a limited amount of “We are in a unique situation here in the and an opportunity for him. “People buy
servicing, the majority of white goods valley – there is not much specialist flat panel TVs off the internet or in the
repairs passing onto another retra member. technical expertise (which is also true of supermarkets, go home and cannot get
At the same time Stuart tries to convince the rest of the country as vocational them working. Then they call me for help.
his customers to take extended qualification training is getting scarcer) The internet won’t duplicate my technical
warrantees. He delivers and installs almost and not many people can deal with expertise and the service which I can
all of the products without making an installation or servicing of the increasingly give.”
additional delivery charge. However the sophisticated consumer electronics
prices of the televisions he sells include the products. Few customers see the Opportunities for
installation charge. difference even between various TV independents
cables.” For Stuart Wiggins, Freesat and Freeview
Beating the competition The rapidly growing cost of overheads represent the most significant recent
Together with the knowledge of his is the greatest challenge for the company. business opportunities. “Bryan Lovewell
customers and their needs, Stuart “As a result we have to work harder than of retra has done a fantastic job getting
Wiggins’ competitive weapon is his ever before but the income is smaller.” Freesat away from the jaws of Argos and
professional expertise. Meanwhile the internet is both a threat delivering it to the hands of independents.
We have done a lot of work with Freesat
here, for example by installing it in rows
and rows of caravans.”
Being an electrical independent
business is an opportunity in itself, says
Stuart. “My motto is: tomorrow is another
day, tomorrow is a different challenge. The
independent electrical business is
changing all the time and you have to be
prepared to move with the times. Being
independent means that you’re free to
respond to business challenges in any
way you feel fit; although you need to
change and adapt.”
Winning the Independent Business
Awards 2009 didn’t go unnoticed in
Rothbury. “When I put the picture from the
Awards evening in the store window many
people came to congratulate us. In such a
small community it counts for a lot. One of
my customers even took the picture and
framed it for us free of charge. Others told
me how proud they were of us.” a73
December 2009 The Independent Electrical Retailer 27
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