Reply No. 205
that operates company wide has been successfully established. It has taken nearly five years to develop fully.
Customer satisfaction is seen by the management as being the most important measure of success. They don’t like losing customers and prefer to see regular customers spending regular amounts with them. Staff training is clear on this point – every customer is valuable – so every staff member is asked to be well mannered and helpful. We all know the scenario – a little old lady wants a dozen screws. It’s not a big sale, but staff at Ideabright would be expected to be as attentive to her as they are to the builder spending hundreds on a brand new SDS drill.
The true story quoted to me was the Polish bricklayer with very poor English who came in looking to buy a few tools. He was treated as a valued customer, and consequently, some years later, as the head of a medium-sized building company he spends many thousands. The reason, as he explained in his much- improved English, was that Ideabright staff members were the first to treat him as a valued customer, even though he had little money to spend and poor English skills.
Atish is keen to recognise that being a THS member has enabled his business to develop to its current size and success. In his opinion, it opens doors into certain important areas, provides ideas and help and is of particular use to smaller companies who can use the economies of scale provided by THS. Importantly for Atish, businesses can “choose and use” from a range of options on offer from THS –whatever the size of your business – that are right for your business at the time. THS treats all its members fairly in his opinion, and allows new ideas and competition to drive your business forward. Although THS does have its own range of special offers through its own suppliers and is currently developing an even more “customizable” system, Ideabright has a very clear strategy for making its own range of offers and deals. Marketing Manager, Bhavin uses his graphic design training to produce eye- catching monthly booklets and posters with special offers and clearance deals for all branches of the company. These are based on “specials” that come through the suppliers’ reps as well as deals that the stock control system identifies as able to
be reduced in price. Atish is keen that regular visitors to the showroom alongside a very successful online business to compliment each other and have more balanced business growth approach. When I spoke to Atish in February this year, he wryly admitted that business was tough and that the cold weather in December and January had affected sales. He noted that February was turning out a whole lot better and internet business had been going particularly well.
Other key factors that help Ideabright in this competitive trade in tough times are the location of the showroom and a good deal of local development. The area around is being “gentrified”, with many new residential buildings being built and housing stock being refurbished to a high standard.
It also helps a great deal, especially in London, that the showroom has a large car park attached, so it is quite possible just to “pop in” for a small on the off chance purchase without having to pay for parking or risk the dreaded double yellow lines. A same-day local delivery service on stock items has also been a hit with local contractors, and is a good way of getting repeat business. Behind the main showroom are vast areas that are in the process of being developed into purpose-built display areas for things like woodworking machinery, bathrooms and tiles. The sheer amount of space means that there is a huge potential for further development not only for specialized showroom space but also for storing the ever-increasing range of stock. Atish has found that being able to diversify in a number of key areas has enabled the business to smooth out the troughs and highs of the tool market.
After my visit to the showroom, I think I agree with my former colleague – I was hugely impressed with the quality and range of tools that were arrayed before me. Each manufacturer had a dedicated space in the showroom that was orderly and well arranged so you could easily see what you wanted. As a customer, the chances are you that could get whatever power or hand tool you wanted straight from the shelf without having to worry that you were not getting a very fair deal on it. If it isn’t the best tool shop in London , and I haven’t visited them all, then it must be very near the top of any list.
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ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 13
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