Retailer Profi le: Abbey Appliances Partners in business
Evesham-based Abbey Appliances, which was established in 1995, is a loyal D.A.D customer. Simon King speaks to co-owner Lyn Knight, who runs the business with Andrew Clarke
L
yn Knight fi rst discovered D.A.D not long after starting the business and the distributor has become an important part of Abbey Appliances. Lyn said: “I’ve been in business 27 years,
and I remember someone telling me about D.A.D.
“I took my van and went along to D.A.D in Gloucester as I wanted couple of tumble dryers, because I was just starting out. “I met Ian Heaven; I got some dryers loaded on my van and Ian asked me if wanted to open an account. I thought I’d never do enough business, but as D.A.D has grown, we have grown and the relationship between the two of us have grown.” Lyn says that over the years, D.A.D has adapted to the changes in the industry. At that times, Lyn didn’t have any direct accounts with any major manufacturers and then, gradually, as time progressed, she began direct accounts with certain manufacturers. However, D.A.D remains an important
supplier to Abbey Appliances. “From a little account, I started building and I suppose Adrian Gillman could see some potential, I don’t know,” Lyn says. “Adrian took a shot on me and it worked. Our relationship has been superb. I don’t bother him very often, but he knows if I’m contacting him, I’ve got a damn good reason to do so.” When Covid hit, Lyn said that D.A.D was
probably “the most proactive distributor around”. “I didn’t care if I had a Zanussi washing machine or a Beko, a Hotpoint or Montpellier – I just needed a washing machine to sell to a customer,” Lyn says. “I sold everything on the phone. I was
talking to the customer, explaining the machine, but Adrian got the machine to my shop. D.A.D helped me and a lot of other smaller retailers – Adrian was on the ball. He’s a bit like me, he realised that to survive, we still had to do business.” At the height of the pandemic, Lyn based
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Lyn Knight, co-owner, Abbey
Appliances
herself in the store, which is located just off the high street in Evesham, Worcestershire; her daughter, Hanna, worked from home, while deliveries continued with a two-man team. The store in ‘normal’ times employs nine staff, so Lyn needed to furlough fi ve staff.
“Furlough helped in a big way, but I
thought if we could keep ticking over, we’d come out the other side of it, which we did,” Lyn says. “I admire the Gilman family for
what they’ve done – at one point the manufacturers didn’t want us, because we didn’t do the business, yet D.A.D kept supplying us. Then they came up with Ice King and Montpellier, which was so forward- thinking for this business.” In the last two years, Lyn reports that D.A.D was her second biggest supplier. “I have a great relationship with my rep, Duncan Williams, he’s just brilliant,” Lyn says. “I pay on time, I don’t moan and groan and the only time I ever come up with any criticism, I go straight to Adrian.” Unsurprisingly for a small store, Lyn is short of space, so she places great importance on the delivery of products. “I get two deliveries a week from all the major suppliers, including D.A.D,” she says. Looking at challenges and Lyn said that analysis of sales has shocked her. “We’ve got a system that tells us what we bought last year, how much it cost and how much we charged, and it’s frightening the
March/April 2022 | D.A.D Special
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