MERCHANT FOCUS: BUTTLE’S
BUTTLE’S “I
In all walks of life, there comes a time for change. The old adage says that “a change can do you good” and this is what is driving builders merchants Buttle’s forward at the start of 2022.
Established in 1919, Buttle’s has branches in Leighton Buzzard, Enfield, Kentish Town and St Albans. As the business continues to adapt to the new post-COVID world with price increases and product shortages all playing their part, a key focus for the business is brand and data and using both of these to drive the business forward.
“Improving our data is a big drive at the moment,” according to Buttle’s head of commercial Hannah Brunton. She adds: “We are in the process of developing a brand-new website which will be fully transactional, but in order to make that work properly we need to have good data feeding it. That’s a challenge, but it’s something we are passionate about getting right.
“It’s not enough for us to get a transactional website up and running, we want to have a great, market leading website that will move
us as a business ahead of the curve. We’d love to see it develop into our fifth branch.”
Business goals
Building on its traditional roots in timber trade, Buttle’s has blossomed into a builders merchants that serves not only tradespeople but also the ardent DIYer. Managing director Ian Church says the business “had been on my radar for years, as a competitor, I knew the business well.” He joined mid-lockdown and experienced first hand the Zoom interview. He says: “I’d never had an interview by Zoom before, so it was all quite a new way of
WAKES UP TO NEW POSSIBILITIES
Fiona Russell Horne meets an independent builders merchant that is determined to make the most of its potential.
doing things. I found myself at a business that is still really well respected in the industry, but which had possibly lost some of its mojo, and was drifting slightly. But I could tell that there was still something there. In fact, some of the things that Buttle’s was doing 20 years ago were way ahead of the competition.” Church took over from Nick Sims, the former managing
director who retired, and says he hopes can bring the experiences learned over the years in various roles with Travis Perkins and Bradfords. Now established in his role almost 18 months on, Church says an element of restructuring and some old faces have gone and new ones appearing is really helping to drive the team forward – there is now a new leadership team which is 75% female, something Church claims wasn’t a deliberate strategy, but just happened like that. Chris Cates is Head of Finance, Hannah Brunton is Head of Commercial and Fran Boast is Head of People and Development. The wider board comprises Peter Buttle as Chairman, non-executive director William Naylor, a former Buttle’s managing director, and Church.
Despite the changes in personnel, it has been important for the Buttle family to remain at the heart of the business. With two members still operating in the business day-to-day, Peter’s son Mark is a business development manager, while his cousin, Sean, is transport and facilities manager, and sits on one of the committees of the h&b buying group in that role.
Family foundations
“Having three members of the Buttle family directly involved in the company absolutely aligns Buttle’s core values to everyday behaviour and activity,” says Church. “Buttle’s
20
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2022
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
