the BIG interview


Focused on growing the independent channel


Award-winning retailer Stellisons scooped two IER Awards this year; Simon King spoke to Steve Scogings, managing director of Stellisons; and chairman of CIH


W


ith nine retail stores across Essex, Suffolk and Kent, Stellisons is a


multi-faceted business that also includes kitchens, a commercial offering and a popular website. Steve Scogings is a busy man, because


as well as running the family business with brother Mark, who heads up the commercial division, he has just started a two-year extension as chairman of CIH, which runs on from the completion of a four-year term. Stellisons has nine engineers on the road and


six crews on the installation side, covering Essex, Suffolk and Kent; four of the install crews are gas trained too. On current trade, Steve said: “There are too


many price rises – I understand some of it – but some of it seems opportunistic as well. Manufacturers are starting to get some money back into the market, which I don’t have a problem with as long as everyone’s in the same boat. “We’ve see problems on stock with some


brands, mentioning no names, but that’s caused issues as well, because we’ve got large accounts for those. We’re having to find alternative brands – others that have been letting us down will no longer have space in the showrooms. “I have a servicing department, so I won’t take on a brand on unless I can service it.” Steve said that he’s looking for good quality


products. “I’m not interested in cheap OEM, we only use


that for contract work, we don’t use it for retail,” he said. “Most of my showrooms are mid- to high-end, so there’s no point in bringing in a sub-Beko product, as that won’t work for me.” In its financial year, to the end of September


2022, Stellisons finished up more than 16% on the previous year. “We’ve had a good year,” Steve said. “That’s


down to the staff – I’ve got problems getting staff – but the ones I’ve got have worked harder and done a better job. “Customers have definitely gone back to shopping local. We’re seeing more people


18 | www.ierdaily.co.uk


Stellisons won two IER Awards this year, including the Best Omnichannel Retailer Award


come back to us and giving us a chance – we’re competitive on price, but we’re giving a much better service level than anyone else out there.” Key to the service that Stellisons offers is that


customers are kept informed, especially on stock outs. “We tend to give them more information rather than the online guys who sell and forget,” Steve said. “On installations, people want a hassle-free time and they’re looking for more advice. Independents are giving more advice than the high street multiples. “Currys to be fair has got better in the last


two years and we’ve seen a different shift in their focus, and I’m watching that with interest; AO is having to shrink back on its property and storage capacity, and also the stock hinderances are hurting them just as much as it does us, but we can change the profiles in our store stores quicker than it can online.” At the IER Awards 2022, Stellisons won the Best Omnichannel Retailer Award. Steve said: “We’re looking more and more at the online channels; business is definitely there


because consumers want to shop that way, but they also want a personal service. “My son took our website further and we’re waiting for him to come back from university to start developing that again, if he wants to.” Steve said that as part of its omnichannel


journey, Stellisons looked at what it could put into stores, digitally, to transform what it does online and what it does in-store to make them more alike. “We brought in electronic ticketing about


five years ago, and we’ve extended that now to more stores,” Steve said. “We’ve also gone for full electronic signage in the stores, which ties up with messages we’ve got on the website – the same thing is being seen in-store and online. “We have a price checker system that’s


free from CIH, which moves the ticket price straightaway, online and in-store, so the electronic price ticket is always matching what the website says.” Stellisons currently has four stores with


electronic ticketing, with another two stores planned for implementation shortly.


October/November 2022


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