MERCHANT FOCUS: MANNINGHAM CONCRETE
kitchen and bathroom department by chance, he says, because there was a gap for a salesman, so he was told to go and do the job. The kitchen department has also grown and developed, and now offers a wide range of kitchen and bathroom products from brands such as Symphony, Neff, Bosch, Vitra and Grohe. The state-of-the-art showroom offers a complete experience, from meticulous measurements and cutting-edge CAD designs to detailed quotations and recommendations for skilled fitters. Customers can explore a plethora of options and receive expert guidance every step of the way. Visitors can get a preview of the showroom with a unique digital walk-through.
As the kitchen and bathroom side grew, it required more space, so the company juggled departments around to maximise the use of space and locations. The kitchen and bathroom showroom expanded into the space vacated by the hardware department, which was moved out to the building that was occupied by the timber factory - which had moved off-site.
Kitchens and bathrooms are slightly more fashion-driven than most other building products, so there is constant pressure to keep the showroom looking up to date. “It’s like the Forth Road Bridge,” Alan Tomlinson says. Cemetery Road is the head office and original general merchants, the old site, where the business began, is known as Manningham Timber and Roofing, that being what it specialises in. The branch in Allerton is the fencing and decking centre, and includes a showroom for those products; it also houses the timber machinery operation. Plus there’s Manningham Concrete Eccleshill, another general merchant branch which is on the other side of Bradford.
Manningham’s core customers are local jobbing man-in-a-white-van builders, with a few larger contractors that are working on converting former mils into residential apartment blocks, which is still a large part of the Bradford market. “We deal with smaller
“The state-of-the-art showroom offers a complete experience, from meticulous measurements and cutting-edge CAD designs to detailed quotations and recommendations for skilled fitters.”
housebuilders, those building up to about six houses at a time, but no bigger than that,” Andrew Tomlinson says.
The showroom which is now run by Robert Tomlinson’ Andrew’s son’ is used by the company’s trade customers who send their householder customers in to choose the style, design and appliances. There is a virtual tour available on the website which the company uses as a way of introducing new customers to it, so that, as Alan Tomlinson says, they have an idea of what is there, and that it will be worth the hassle of getting through the traffic to get there. The displays all have QR codes rather than price tickets, which makes it easier to add or update details.
The company has grown over the years, but the Tomlinsons say there is no real rush to continue that trajectory. “We are a Bradford based company so the majority of our customers are from the Bradford area. Our catchment area probably stretches as far as 20–30-mile radius of Bradford. Though a
December 2023
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lot of it will depend on where some of our larger contractor customers are working. We have a fair few who work in Leeds, so we have some business over that way at the moment,” Andrew Tomlinson says.
That said, there is a younger generation keeping an eye on future possibilities, as Alan’s son, Michael, works in the business as well as Robert; currently running two branches, he is keen to grow Manningham Concrete. Where and when appropriate. Alan Tomlinson says: “We are quite happy with what we have, and we’re not actively looking to increase the size of the business, though we might be open to taking on another branch if the right opportunity came up. We’re keeping an open mind as to whether the best way would be to open a new site, or to purchase one. We have some ideas about where in the region we might like to be, but it does depend what else happens in the wider market. We will do what’s right for the future of our business.” BMJ
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