“Heady days”
Managers had total freedom to do deals
No analysis of the 1970s and 1980s tool hire industry is complete without reviewing Kendrick Hire. David Kendrick formed his business in a shop on Felixstowe Road in Ipswich and, by the end of the 1970s, there was a Kendrick outlet in every sizable town in East Anglia. By the mid-1980s, the company had grown into London, the south east of England, the Midlands and into the north west. David was incredibly hands-
off. His forte was doing deals with suppliers, sorting out property and his big love -
acquisitions.The first significant deal was Flag Hire in south London, acquired from Bovis, followed by branches in the west Midlands from M & J
Demand was incredible
When I joined my father’s business in 1982, Hiretech operated eight tool hire shops and had a thriving distribution business.We had introduced several new brands to the UK hire market, especially Hagerty spray extraction carpet cleaners, which became a market-leading machine. We also introduced, amongst others, Rubi tile cutters and Kew pressure washers to the UK.
The year I joined,we were
also invited to add our hire operation into Sainsbury’s Homebase
stores.The first opportunity we were presented with was in
Croydon, where Homebase was opening a new DIY store in two weeks time and wanted to offer equipment for hire. Originally, it was staffed with Homebase people, but they did not have the skills or the desire to run a hire outlet. Over the next decade,
we set-up 62 Hiretech in-store hire shops with Homebase. We also had units in Smiths Do-It-All in the West Midlands and Fine Fare Fix and Fit in Welwyn Garden City, taking the total to over 70 in-plants. The products that we distributed and manufactured became the cornerstone of Homebase’s hire operations. These outlets became a captive market for our own products. The best performing store was Kingston-upon-Thames as,
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Engineers.After that, the acquisitions spread far and wide. Sometimes the locations left something to be desired - an ancient Portakabin by South Ockenden railway station, still springs to mind. Kendrick managers all
started as drivers.We were a disparate bunch of individuals - all in our 20s, mostly single. The principal thing we had in common is that we knew
nothing about tool hire! It didn’t seem to matter. The Kendrick culture was one of massive co-operation between branches. Staffing levels were tight, so moving equipment around was a logistical challenge - often carried out in the evening, meeting another manager outside a curry house or pub! I remember driving from Peterborough to Ipswich in freezing fog one night after work to collect a dozen blow heaters for a hire the next day. Managers had total freedom to do deals and, if the deal was right,we could buy equipment too.We were all cheque signatories and had a company cheque book. Discounts were tiny - your best customer might get 10% and all transport was charged out. Competition was limited - mostly HSS and some plant companies dabbling in tool hire.
By the late 1980s, however, competition had intensified.
each weekend, between 30 and 50 steam strippers and carpet cleaners would be hired. Demand was incredible. We ran each operation
with two full time and one part time staff.We were open all the hours the store was open. We also developed Hirestar, which was one of the first computerised hire systems on the market. Hiretech offered a complete turnkey operation.
It was heady days in the 1980s as the industry continued to grow. It was boom time and lots of exciting things were happening. It was undoubtedly one
HIRE NEWS IN THE 1980s
The 1980s have proved a lost decade as far as getting hold of Hire News copies are concerned. However, to gain a full flavour of our industry’s continued growth in these years, Robert Aplin invited six leading figures to recall their experiences.
Kendrick Hire was now in London and came across the mighty PB from Manchester, as well as Total Power Tools. These marketing-led companies turned salesmanship into an art
form.They flooded streets with sales guys when opening new depots, offering big discounts and free delivery. The huge levels of business that these two companies did in London woke up the industry. The fairly cosy dividing up of the market amongst numerous independents and a few nationals had been shattered. This new model for the industry was run out nationwide when Speedy acquired Kendrick Hire in 1994.
Barry Dean, former senior manager with Kendrick, now MD The Hire Network
of our industry’s most prosperous decades.
Mark Rogers, MD Hiretech
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