the big interview
Monday February 4 2019 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM
Steamer Trading takes stock
Steamer Trading Cookshop founder Ben Phillipsupdates Clare Turner on the specialist housewares chain’s strategy
T
he story of Steamer Trading Cookshop’s transformation from a single specialist store to a housewares chain began 33
years ago. Back in 1985, former Habitat merchandise director
David Phillips and his wife Liz, ex-home editor of ‘The Sunday Times’, opened the doors to their very first store, on the site of the former Steamer Inn in the East Sussex village Alfriston (hence the name Steamer Trading). In 2001, the couple’s son Ben came on board,
taking Steamer Trading into its second generation as a family-owned company. Fresh from a career in the City, where he was a managing director with Credit Suisse First Boston, Ben was keen to expand the business from day one. Fast forward 17 years and the retailer, which is headquartered in the East Sussex county town of Lewes, has grown to 40 stores, varying in size from 800sq ft (Westerham) to around 7,000sq ft (Horsham). Steamer Trading is still 100% family-owned. Mark Saunders joined in 2017 as chief executive officer and leads the business on a day-to-day basis and reports into the board, while Ben works with him on the strategy, property and buying side. The buying and merchandising team is led by
Clare Burgess who was promoted to the newly appointed role of trading director on August 1. Her team members include Rob Falconer, Emma Read and Anoulack Phengsavath
Eventful times 2016 was arguably the most eventful in Steamer Trading’s history when, in the space of four months, the firm effectively took on six stores, two websites and a new warehouse. In March, the Divertimenti business was snapped
up, comprising one central London cookshop and cookery school in Knightsbridge, a warehouse in Worcester and a website. In April, a Steamer Trading branch opened in the Somerset city of Wells. The following month, the Kitchens Cookshop business was acquired. This deal consisted of three shops in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, plus a website. In June, Steamer Trading opened a branch in the Cornwall town of Truro – complete with a
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Divertimenti cookery school in situ – and in December, the Divertimenti cookshop and cookery school in London was refurbished and relaunched. This year, the company has faced further major changes. In June, Steamer Trading closed its Worcester warehouse, following a full review of its logistical requirements. It previously distributed goods to all of its stores from Worcester and fulfilled all website orders from a third party logistics provider in the south-east. Steamer Trading has now moved both operations
to a single site in the Northamptonshire town of Corby, operated by the logistics firm iForce, which is part of the Eddie Stobart Group. Ben says: “We planned it carefully and invested
heavily in it - and it’s actually gone very smoothly as a result, which is great. The focus now is on making the existing model as efficient as possible. This has been one of the major focuses so far this year.”
Challenging trading climate The challenging trading climate has also prompted Steamer to review its store portfolio. Both the original 900sq ft Alfriston unit and the 3,500sq ft Marlow shop pulled were shuttered in June, and the 2,700sq ft Canterbury store will follow in 2019. Ben explains: “Alfriston didn’t really fit with what
we’re doing these days. It was our smallest store, in terms of turnover. It hadn’t been refitted in 30 years, and we were not even using half the building because there is a flat upstairs. Plus, it’s a very valuable freehold. So it just didn’t make sense to keep it.” Marlow is set to return to its former use as a bar
and restaurant, following an approach by brewery and pub group Marston’s, and at Canterbury, the lease is coming to an end. Says Ben: “While it’s a lovely Tudor building in a tourist destination, the heavy shopping in Canterbury is done elsewhere
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