Herbert Todd and Son opened its two-level, 10,000 square foot, edge-of-town superstore on the Monks Cross retail park, in York, in 2017. The property was purpose-built for the retailer. “I’ve always thought it’s impossible to have an electrical outlet in a main town centre position – you just can’t make enough money to pay the rates,” says partner, Graham Todd, whose father started the business in 1936. “I’ve always bought – I’ve never rented. The one thing you’ve got to do if you’re retailing is get rid of your overheads.”
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Lockdown was very scary – I took out the biggest Covid loan I could get from the bank, as we didn’t know when and where it was all going to end
Graham is less involved with the company these days – he
leaves the day-to-day operation to his sons, Matthew and David, who are also partners in the firm. “I’ve become a ‘yes and no man,’ he tells Alert. “The boys
propose things and I say ‘yes’. They said they were thinking of going into kitchens and I said, ‘I’ve been thinking about it for 40 years, so why not get on with it?’” They did get on with it – at the back end of 2019, the business employed a kitchen designer and was gearing up for a grand opening event when Covid kicked in and the store had to shut. “But, in that calendar year – the 12 months of 2020 – we sold 12 kitchens and that all came in the second half,” says Matthew. “We’d set our target for the first year as 12 kitchens and we were
pretty happy with that – we’d done what we’d set out to achieve.” The designer, Mel Lumley, is still with the business, and Adam Close, a former retail assistant manager, has become a kitchen designer. “From 2020, we doubled our turnover on kitchens and
Matthew, Graham and David Todd
As Retra celebrates its 80th anniversary, we’re visiting members whose businesses are of a similar age, or older. Sean Hannam heads to York to see award-winning retailer, Herbert Todd & Son, which turns 86 this year, but is constantly evolving.
bathrooms, and I’ve challenged them to quadruple it this year, but if we double it again, we’ll be happy. We’re firmly on track to do that,” says Matthew.
Prompted Alert asks Graham what prompted the move into kitchens? “We were trying to find margin,” he explains. “Today, that’s what
retailing’s all about. I’ve always liked my nice little earners, but now they can come and go in three months – they used to last three years…”
Adds Matthew: “The problem with retailing appliances is the
transparency. It’s great for the end user, but there’s nowhere to hide for the retailer. “If a manufacturer comes to you with what seems like a good
deal – they say we have an overstock of these, and you can have £30 a box off – it will only take a couple of days for a seller to carve it up and the opportunity will have disappeared.”
▶ ▶ Dealer Focus: Herbert Todd & Son 33
Dealer Focus
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