MERCHANT FOCUS: KENT BUILDERS MERCHANTS
“Everything we do, whether directly or indirectly, is aimed at building a strong relationship with our customers. Whether that’s on the operational side or the yard, everything we do out there speeds up the service we can offer to our customers. “We also have long standing relationships with suppliers we’ve worked with in the past. That includes suppliers such as Gill Aggregates locally, Cemex for concrete blocks, and Falcon Timber and Panel Supplies, which provides a big supply of timber to us. There are of suppliers that have really supported us from the start.”
Building your name
Establishing yourself is key to succeeding, but being differentiated from the competition means being able to stand out. “I’d say the challenge is the depth of the market,” McDaid continues, “whether that be the national merchants, new online offerings, or other local independents.
“Being a new business, and a new name, we know we have to build up that loyalty again. You can only do that by getting in front of people, servicing them well, and doing what you promise to. The depth of competition is probably one of the biggest challenges, but I think you can always overcome that through offering a better level of service.
“Luckily, with all of us Maidstone based, we have a good local customer base that we have
“Everything we do, whether directly or indirectly, is aimed at building a strong relationship with our customers. Whether that’s on the operational side or the yard.”
known for a long time. I worked in Maidstone before, and a couple of my colleagues used to run a merchant here as well. We’ve got a good customer base, so if we’re in the right area, they will come and see us and shop with us. “I think being new presents you with opportunities. We can work quicker than national merchants can. I have worked in a national merchant before, and often there are too many layers to the decision making. All the decisions we make are literally on the counter. We make decision like that before others in bigger businesses can pass on the message, so I think that being new, and smaller, that’s an opportunity for us.
“What we want to do is be quick and April 2026
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efficient and very hands on. That’s what our customer base likes. I think there is a need in the market for younger people coming into the businesses. We really try to tailor well to young people that want to learn and want to be involved in the industry. I don’t think we want to lose that as we grow.
Customer service
“For our loyal customers, we’ll go anywhere. Anywhere, because they know, if they place their order with us, and if it’s Kent, if it’s London, if it’s even further afield, we will cover that, but our core business is in Maidstone in the surrounding area. We’ll stretch wherever we need to for our customer base. “We always offer a same day delivery service for people local enough that order early, otherwise its always next day delivery. If someone comes in, whoever serves them at the counter follows them outside, loads them up, and gets them in and out quickly. “We have a fleet of six vehicles at the moment, and hopefully another two coming shortly as well. We have some partners we use for outside haulage as well, as and when the need arises.
“In this industry you make your own destiny. In good markets and bad markets, you can still go and win business, because even when the market is 10% down, you’ve still got a 90% of what the market was doing in the year before, so you can go and win business ahead of your competitors.” BMJ
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