Retailer Profi le: Abbey Appliances


difference in costs,” she says. “You need a level of percentage of income to be able to survive – I pay good wages, National Insurance is going up, we’re doing all the NEST pensions – and there’s more costs for a business now than there has ever been, it’s a nightmare. I look at prices with more scrutiny than I probably did four or fi ve years ago – something that was £249 last year is now £329.” However, another thing Lyn has noticed


is that customers are buying better, although she concedes that she’s unsure how long this trend will last. “Quality is something that some customers are looking at more, because it’ll last longer,” Lyn says. “I had an old couple in recently and I had three washer- dryers, priced at £399, £429 and £729 and that’s all I had – I usually keep six.


“The elderly lady said to her husband that


they hadn’t spent much of their pensions, and they went for the £729 product – I nearly fell over.” Lyn says that she always tries to have a


great relationship with reps that call at the store.


“Some of them do an absolute


tremendous job, working hard, keeping in contact and giving me deals, and that’s nice,” she says. “If you scream and shout you’re not going to get the favours down the line.” With rising fuel costs, Lyn reports that she is considering increasing delivery charges from April 1, but she is only too aware that this will have a knock-on effect on customers. “Evesham is like a little city, with Evesham


in the middle and we then have so many villages around,” Lyn says. “The logistics now of booking an engineer to go in one direction and not then book him to go in the other direction on the same day is going to be paramount. “We deliver up to 20-mile radius of the store; I plan the routes so that I can include extra calls because they’re in a condensed area rather than going all over the place. Our two-man delivery team is working fl at- out at the moment.” In addition to the retail team Abbey


Appliances also employs two full-time engineers and they are both electricians. “We do a lot of electrical work,” Lyn says. “The business is predominantly an appliance shop, but we also do night storage heaters, electric showers, electric fans, fuse boards and rewires. “When the appliance side goes quiet, the electrical side could be really busy.


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“We try to pre-empt what spare parts might be needed. If a customer says their oven is not heating, we’ll ask what make it is. We might get a new element for the oven and hopefully do it on the fi rst visit, rather than saying it’s an element and we’ll have to come back next week.” Going forward, Lyn says she believes that


energy prices and fuel prices are going to be regular conversations with customers for a long time to come. Lyn says she is keen to invest in a more


comprehensive website. “Hanna built my website for about £25, which was great, but it’s all moved on,” she says. “I want our website to be totally different; we don’t want to sell online, because I don’t want to go further than we do – and we’re only a phone call or an email away. I’d love to have the new website before the autumn. “My store has a very blank canvas, so when customers walk in, they’re looking at fridges. At the end of the day, it’s fridges and freezers. The website isn’t about selling brands, it’s about selling appliances and service – most people are going online to fi nd out phone numbers or email addresses. Lyn says that the business grew 21% in


2021. “In the climate that was amazing,” she says. “If can increase 15% this year that will be a good result. I have quite a few big accounts now, so I know I can source products if I need them.” In conclusion, Lyn says: “D.A.D ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of different types of businesses. I think D.A.D is the best distribution company for major appliances.”


March/April 2022 | D.A.D Special


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