MERCHANT FOCUS: HUWS GRAY their work,” Northen says.
It’s a fairly good geographical fit, Owen adds. “The Grafton Merchanting businesses tended to be in the middle of the country, not venturing too far over to the North West or East Anglia, possibly reasoning that they would buy either Huws Gray or Ridgeons when they wanted to move into those territories.”
The key to the group’s development will be ensuring there is a sense of ownership at local level, Northen says. “All of our branch managers feel as though it is their branch, and we talk a lot about giving people, particularly branch managers, the flexibility, the autonomy and the trust to do their role. Of course, there’s a framework because we are a larger organisation, but it’s a framework for them to take advantage of rather than one that restricts them.”
He adds that the intention of the deal with Grafton is to continue to build upon those businesses and grow them, not take them out of the market. Owen agrees, and says: “We feel privileged that we’ve been able to do this, and we want to look at how we support the existing businesses, allowing them to develop further, as well as adding our own little sprinkle of Huws Gray culture. We have great people in our business, but we have also met great people in the new set of businesses we are buying. We are expecting to do this with them, not to them.” Northen adds that this was very much his experience having been on the receiving end of it with Ridgeons. “It was very much a collaborative approach to things,” he says.
Historically, when Huws Gray acquired a business, Owen, along with Dewi Morris, would go in and meet everyone, make some tea, and bring biscuits. He agrees that this time, given the expanded scale of this particular acquisition, that might be a little harder to manage logistically. As will learning everyone’s names, something he prides himself on doing. “This has always been the Huws Gray approach, it’s embodied in our teams and it’s key to our success.” As far as possible, bearing in mind the growth rate of the past 31 years, Huws Gray has tried to remain true to its core. Northen says: “The task for us now is about retaining what’s made Huws Gray special over the years. Our expanded branch network will give us national coverage but the way we operate will always be wrapped around the beating heart of an independent. It remains to be seen whether we can achieve it or not, but our objective is to retain that way of doing things. It’s an exciting challenge and we plan to have fun meeting it.” BMJ
20
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2021
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