RETAILER FOCUS Harts of Stur
David Conduit, purchasing and HR director at Harts of Stur, participated in a Q&A with Housewares Magazine.
more products than we offer online for example DIY, ironmongery and gardening. Online we have very much zeroed in on kitchenware, but even that is changing to meet the expectations and shopping preferences of our customers, with additions such as bathroom and bedroom recently added to our portfolio. Our primary method of reflecting these demand shifts is by listening to our customers, a skill so often ignored by many larger retailers. Currently, as often happens when the economy is tighter, and people have less money in their pockets, we’re seeing consumers spend their money wisely. This can be moving in to an unbranded or sub-prime brand version of what they want, or at the other end of the scale, trading up in the expectation that the money spent on a premium line is money invested in an item that lasts longer.
HM: You have an online business as well as a retail space, how have you ensured a consistent brand identity, product selection and customer service across both? DC: By investing in good staff, training them well, and trusting them to be company ambassadors. Whilst there is a strong management structure here, all staff are empowered to contribute at every level
Housewares Magazine: Please introduce yourself. David Conduit: My name is David Conduit. I started as the Saturday sweeper 33 years ago, and I have progressed to purchasing and HR director, with all roles in between.
HM: Harts of Stur was established in 1919 and has a rich heritage, how have you maintained the business’ ethos/ brand identity? DC: It’s a family business, still run and owned by the family that built the business. We’re still based in rural North Dorset serving and supporting our local community, but we have changed with the times. Where we started offering a service to mainly farmers, we have adapted and evolved to offer something for a much broader cross section of the local populus, and then rolled that ethos out online so that national customers can benefit from our personal and customer focused approach. It helps keep our name on shoppers’ minds.
HM: You have an expansive offering across cookware, kitchenware and kitchen electricals, how do you adapt to changing consumer demand? What are consumers looking for currently? DC: Consumer demand is constantly changing. Every retailer has to adapt and evolve to reflect this or they fail. Our store offers many
HM: How do your online bestsellers compare to your in-store bestsellers? Is there a specific selection process for products in-store? DC: Largely the same, although there are always some lines that work better instore for example clothing, and some that trade better online such as coffee machines or other bulky items.
HM: As one of the UK’s largest in store and online retailers, what would you attribute to your success? DC: Staff, listening to customers, adapting to the changing retail environment, not being afraid to invest in the future and hard work. There are still too many retailers who think that cheap pricing and a website are easy money. To be successful long term, you have to constantly work at it.
HM: Do you have any 2023 goals? How will you achieve them? DC: Trying to maintain Covid era levels of trade and profitability. With difficulty.
HM: Where do you see the business in the next five years? How will the business evolve? Evolving and growing. By listening to customers before acting.
18 | June/July 2023
housewareslive.net
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