Beat the Competition: Aclands


“There is no profit left in brown goods. Manufacturers should stop box chasing and think about their own and our profit. At the end of the day, it won’t be good for the public when everyone who provides goods and services is gone”


diamond. He spends hours with our customers and that’s why they love him.” Although white goods trainers come to the store, “my staff are self-taught to a great extent,” says Martyn. “They like to strip any new product to see how it’s built and how it works. Then they demonstrate this knowledge to the customers. “We are trying to leave customers happy in whichever way we can. It’s impossible to keep them all happy all the time, but nine times out of ten we succeed.”


“Of course, our customer following comes down to service,” adds Venetia. “They know they can call on us anytime they need to. One of our elderly customers who has recently purchased a washing machine has already come six times to the shop asking for help.” The Aclands use their website only as a shop window. They took a decision not to trade online as they feel that their internet presence won’t be strong enough to generate sufficient sales. Martyn also believes that the philosophy and practices of internet trading are contrary to the principles of his business and what he stands for.


Market challenges “Footfall and profitability are the key challenges for us, “ admits Martyn. “Just before Christmas I became very frustrated when all we got were customers who wanted us to match internet prices.”


He also argues that declining


profitability is the main problem of the electrical industry at the moment, much greater than the recession. “There is no profit left in brown goods.


There are a few companies, such as Philips which are trying to keep profit within it but they find it very tough. Manufacturers should stop box chasing and think about their own and our profit. At the end of the day, it won’t be good for the public when everyone who provides goods and services is gone.” “Survival battle is the main thing for the


March 2012 The Independent Electrical Retailer 21 Venetia and Matyn Acland


industry for the next three years. If the industry wishes to keep innovating they need retailers who will be able to sell these innovations. Shrinking margins have an adverse impact on the level of service the retailer gives to the customer; what he can include in the price and how much time can be spent installing the product and educating the customer about it.” “I don’t see the expansion of this business into new markets,” admits Martyn. He feels that technology developments have overtaken customers. “Customers who haven’t yet understood the internet television technology are already receiving full web browsers. It’s not surprising, they are confused.”


Customer priorities “People are becoming very conscious of energy efficiency and an increasing number of customers ask for A+ or A++ appliances,” says Martyn. He believes, however, that energy consumption should be explained it terms of cost per


hour or a single use – the customer would understand this better – than annual savings.


In his experience, the majority of customers look for simple models of appliances that are available the same day. “Availability is more important than features,” he argues. Approximately 80% of the appliances he sells are distress purchases.


Winning the D&G award “After we promoted our win in the local paper many people came into the shop to congratulate us and said that we deserved to win it.


“The nicest thing about winning this


Award is the fact that we have done nothing to win it. Nothing other than doing our normal job,” says Martyn. “It doesn’t convert into instant sales but it gives people reassurance that you’re whom they thought you are. If our customers take trouble to complete these forms and post them to D&G, they must believe that we’re giving them a good service,” concludes Venetia. ■


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