the biginterview
Monday February 5 2018 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM
“Our service levels are second to none”
Martin Elliott, chief executive of Home Hardware, reveals why the award-winning wholesaler is building on the success of its consumer cookshop catalogue and developing its own-label housewares range
An honour “It was an honour for me to collect the award from The Hairy Bikers on behalf of Home Hardware. The achievement reflects the commitment, effort and hard work of all our staff throughout the company, together with the support and loyalty from our retailers.” Home Hardware is dealer-owned and is the
largest voluntary organisation of its kind in the UK for independently-owned hardware and DIY stores. So what, in Martin’s view, sets it apart from other wholesalers? “As a dealer-owned wholesaler, we are
owned by our retail members. They, quite rightly, demand exceptionally high levels of service,” he says. “We believe our service levels are second to
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WINNER BEST
WHOLESALER AWARD
I
n February, Home Hardware added a special prize to its trophy cabinet aſter winning the Britain’s Best Wholesaler
category of The Housewares Innovation Awards 2017. The Barnstaple-based business beat finalists
Costco, EFG Housewares, Jegs Electrical and Stax Centres to the title. Home Hardware chief executive Martin
Elliott was at the awards ceremony, held on February 6 in Birmingham, to collect the reward from hosts Si King and Dave Myers (aka celebrity cooks The Hairy Bikers). Recalling the big night at The National
Motorcycle Museum, which was organised by Housewares Magazine and
www.HousewaresLive.net, Martin says: “I was delighted that we won as there was stiff competition from the other major UK housewares wholesalers.
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none and we are 100% focused on the needs of our members, in order to ensure they can successfully operate efficient and profitable stores. “In essence,” he continues, “Home Hardware
is about ‘people helping people’ – the staff helping members and members helping their customers. It’s a family of retailers working together to secure their future. “Our significant purchasing power, together
with the use of efficient systems, enables us to provide our customers with excellent service and value.” Martin joined Home Hardware when he was
18, as a temporary warehouse employee. The plan was to work for 12 months to earn some money before going to university to study agricultural engineering. “During that year, the agricultural industry
started to struggle and I was enjoying the challenges of working for Home Hardware - and here I am, 37 years later!” he smiles. “I believe I’ve done every job within the
company (some better than others!) which helps me relate to the various issues we experience. “Some of our key staff are home-grown like
me and others have been recruited for their specific skill sets. I’m always pleased to see jobs that I previously did being done to a much higher standard by someone else, and I rarely find myself feeling ‘I could have done better’.”
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HousewaresLive.net Home Hardware was founded back in Devon
in 1961 as a buying group of eight retailer members. Back then, it was called ‘Barnfords’: the name was a combination of the Barnstaple and Bideford towns in which it operated. The business grew and in 1971 purchased its
own warehouse and became a dealer-owned wholesaler carrying stock. By 1979 it had outgrown the warehouse and
purchased a new 20,000sq ft outlet at Braunton in Devon. It again outgrew these premises and in 1997 purchased a 45,000sq ft distribution warehouse in Barnstaple, which it now occupies. In 2008 an additional 50,000sq ft distribution
centre was opened at Bedford in Bedfordshire, to support retailers north of the M4. Today Home Hardware Southwest Ltd - as
the company is officially called - supplies England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As it has expanded from its south-west roots, it now often refers to itself as Home Hardware. Martin says the moniker is “less of a mouthful
and the ‘Southwest’ part can possibly mislead people to think that we only service the south- west of England and not the whole of England and Wales”. In contrast Home Hardware (Scotland) Ltd
does, in fact, as the name suggests, simply supply Scotland – with just a few members in the far north of England. “There is a very small area of overlap but this
has not been a problem,” Martin says. “It is not financially linked to us but we consider them a sister company. “They have similar objectives in supporting
their members. Several years ago, we used to jointly purchase containers of stock and split them between us. But as both companies have grown significantly, this is no longer necessary.” Home Hardware supplies 460 retailers; most
of which are members (as Martin notes, “there are always some enjoying their 12-month trial membership”). He estimates that at least 75% stock housewares. So how does a housewares retailer go about
becoming a member? Initially, Home Hardware offers the aforementioned 12 months’ free trial membership. Then, after 12 months, a
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twitter.com/Housewaresnews May 2017
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