MERCHANT FOCUS
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
Blanchford Building Supplies believes in keeping an eye open for opportunities so it can make the right move when they appear. BMJ’s Rachel Tucker, hit the road to see the company’s new Bicester branch.
F
rom its origins in Queens Street, Oxford, Blanchford Building Supplies moved to its present site in Windmill
Road, Headington in the 1950’s. The business went from strength to strength, and during the 1960’s the company procured its site in Princes Risborough and more latterly opened a branch in Wallingford, Oxon, in 2012. Always looking for the chance to expand, Blanchfords opened its latest branch in Bicester, Oxfordshire, in December 2016.
our requirements perfectly”, said purchasing director, John Hayden. “The four branches are near enough to be able to offer support to each other whilst still covering their own areas and servicing their own customers”.
The four branches have been strategically placed to ensure a strong
support structure for each other, “If you look at where we are in terms of branch locations, we’ve got Oxford, Riseborough, Wallingford, Bicester here and they don’t have enough vehicles to suit, other branches will help out and vice-versa.” says Hayden. “Our delivery radius is about 25 miles, which would just slightly overlap some of our other branches, but we do get customers who travel a fair distance, say, 10-15 miles to see us.”
Times are changing
“The business is, however, much more price driven than it ever has been and we always try to be as competitive as we can. Getting the right balance that being able to treat our customers as individuals and striking up a good relationships with them helps us to achieve that,” says managing director. Adrian Smith,
“As a small independent merchant it members of the NBG buying group, we are able provide our customers with the best rates and offers we can. “This is something, John Hayden, our puchasing director, has been very much involved with and is something we believe is worth being a part of as it enables us to compete against the nationals.”
Although a traditional company, Blanchfords have embraced the changes brought about through social media, promoting the company through its website, Facebook and Twitter. “The feedback has been very positive and we have seen the web sales grown consistently”, says Hayden.
Times are changing
Blanchford place a lot of value on treating their customers right, explains Smith, “We do a lot of special offers, our marketer organizes promotions our social media channels. We have six representatives on the road. We advertise in magazines and on billboards, we do a bit of sponsorship of local football teams and sports clubs, we also try to do charity work.” Another area that Blanchfords are keen to be involved with is sponsorship of local clubs and events. Along with sporting clubs and local schools, Blanchfords also like to get involved with local charities and
20 April 2017 BMJ
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