RISING STARS OLIVIA HOPKINS
Job title: Group Showroom Manager Company: Turnbull & Co Ltd
What’s your role?
I look after all the kitchen and bathroom showrooms for Turnbull’s.
How did you get into this industry? I started when I was 13, filing paperwork after school every day for 1 hour. When I was 18, I went into retail management at Waitrose but they would not offer me the hours I needed so after 6 months I left. One of the directors here needed someone to help out in our Sleaford Showroom; I have never looked back
What might a typical day for you at work be? My first job of the day is to walk round the showroom and make sure it is looking presentable. I then deal with emails and usually have at least one internal meeting and a meeting with a supplier. I make sure I talk to my staff throughout the day, catch up daily with my manager and always speak to one member of the showroom team from other branches. I check in with the customer service coordinators who look after the ordering and arranging of deliveries and I try and get on with arranging displays for all the branches. I also make time to serve customers as I still get that buzz every time someone orders something from me personally.
What were you doing at work last week? I visited two of our existing showrooms; Newark and our Boston bathroom showroom which I am in the process of changing. I also visited our Boston kitchen showroom which is due to open this month, I made sure everything has been fitted to the standard that I need. I had multiple suppliers in to talk to me about showcasing their new products. I also held a staff team meeting to have a catch up with everyone away from the computer screens’
What are your big challenges in this role? My big challenge in this role is not being able to clone myself, I would love to be in all of the showrooms at the same time. Another is finding the right staff, as our showroom business grow we are looking for more staff but sometimes you have to wait until you find the right person.
What do you love about your role? I absolutely love that every day is different. I always look forward to coming to work as the time seems to fly by. I still also love selling to a customer, especially when I can get them to upgrade on a product. Of course, it also allows for healthy competition alongside my colleagues also.
What has been your biggest achievement so far? My biggest achievement so far is being promoted to the
manager of my own showroom by the age of 22 and then Group Showroom Manager at the age of 23. I strive for 100% customer satisfaction and I believe that is what has helped driven the success of the Turnbull showrooms today. I have also helped increase not only the sales but the GM of the Sleaford showroom since I started, finishing 2018 on our best year to date. I think because I started my career at the bottom and worked my way up that keeps me grounded and enables me to understand all the different ways of the showroom.
What would you like to achieve next? I would hope is to help Turnbulls properly identify Showrooms as the third leg to its business. I would like to make sure we are covering all areas of Lincolnshire and make sure we have showrooms in the bigger towns in Lincolnshire so we really can be the developers and retailer’s choice. My Grandfather once said to me he could see me as the person to take Turnbull as a national builders merchant but I think that would be one step too far- I would be grey before 30!
What advice would you give someone new to this industry?
This is a career path you will never look back on, the job opportunities and paths for progression are so vast. I honestly do love my job. It is so important to have a great team around you and a fantastic customer base also. If you keep your head down and put 100% into your job then I believe you will be rewarded in the long run.
What would you say to someone thinking about a careerin the merchant industry?
Go for it, you will never fully understand exactly what the merchant industry is about until you are in it. There are so many different angles you can turn to, different people you can speak to for advice and genuinely just help you out.
What are the changes you foresee the industry making in order to survive the future?
I think the industry needs to start looking at how they can buy and price smarter. People still like to use the knowledge of trained showroom staff to then go and buy goods online. I am a big believer of supporting brands which have a no internet policy; if people can buy the goods online then why would I want those products in my showrooms? I also think customers need to become more savvy. I see people buy from these companies which offer 60% off kitchens and bathrooms and regrettably end up buying something which they don’t truly love. I hope that as the Turnbull showrooms expand we can help have a larger dominance of the market in both the trade and retail sector. BMJ
MANAGER’S VIEW
Olivia, at just 23 years old, is responsible for the fastest growing area of Turnbull’s business. Her
attention to detail, systems and process has given the Board confidence to invest in this area and ensured that more experienced collagues bought into the vision and have supported all the changes. A major achievement was pulling
together a team of customer service administrators to support the sales designers, meaning the designers can focus on sales and design. Turnover has grown 40% in the past year, on top of 20% growth the previous year. There has ben a reduction in both design and order fulfillment issues and customer trust in the Turnbull’s skill set has ensured greater bottom-line performance.
Our vision is to be recognised as a market leader and our customers’ preferred ‘Partner in Wall Building’, supplying innovative, sustainable and cost-effective
aircrete building solutions.
Our mission to supply value added aircrete solutions for any wall.
April 2019
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 17
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