MERCHANT FOCUS
AN ETERNAL FLAME
Starting small with one branch selling boiler spares, Flame Heating Group has a vision to be much bigger as Elizabeth Jordan found out.
I
n common with many people in the merchant industry, John Savage, managing director of Flame Heating Group, fell into the industry almost by accident after leaving school.
“I didn’t leave school wanting to sell boilers and bathrooms, I just wanted a job that would pay me at least £100 a week,” he says. “Plumb Center had just opened near where I lived and were running a training course and I found myself there, working all hours in a warehouse. But I was young, had ambition and wanted to change the world, like most young people do.
“It took me two years to get used to the role, but I found I actually enjoyed working on the trade counter, dealing with customers. “To cut a long story short, whilst I’d begun my career in the plumbing merchant world, my real ambition was to set up my own business.”
The opportunity presented itself in 2011 when he was able to raise some money and support to set up his first Flame branch in Gateshead, selling boiler spares.
24
and a year later I was able to open a second branch in Durham.
“We have 12 branches now, eight across the North East, one in the North West and three in Scotland, so we’ve done fairly well in just eight years.”
“That was the back end of the recession, when it was all doom and gloom, but what we discovered was that people were repairing their appliances rather than replacing them, which worked in our favour. We had a great first year, keeping an eye on costs and income
Flame Heating Group started with a very simple idea: carefully chosen heating products and spares, backed by personal advice from experts. The head office is one of Flame’s newest acquisitions. “Eighteen months to two years ago, there wasn’t a finance team or support team at all,” he explains. “We’ve bolstered that quite rapidly and set up our head office here in Boldon, South Tyneside. Gateshead remains our main hub, where we distribute equipment to other branches.” “We are always looking for ways to differentiate ourselves from other suppliers. One such initiative is our consumer credit license, which allows us to offer finance to customers to make their lives a bit easier. Most of our heating products are so-called ‘distress purchases’ - they are only needed when something breaks down and our credit facility offers that bit of extra help when it’s most required.”
Flame Heating Group has also opened three
bathroom showrooms, which are open to both trade and the public in Cramlington, Durham and Sunderland, with more in the pipeline.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
