MERCHANT FOCUS: ROBERT PRICE
says. “We also hold open days to try and encourage people to visit. What’s great is that people are actually asking to come, and see what we have here, as opposed to us inviting them. For example Pembrokeshire council, who are not our usual clients, came all the way down here to see the centre. We’ve also seen quite a few walk-ins, with people just interested in seeing what we offer, and how we can help them meet their obligations.”
Customer engagement Pike says that having the Centre gives the company a chance to engage with new customers. “None of our national competitors in Wales are currently doing what we do. The Welsh Government are also using our facilities to hold meetings about their decarbonisation plans, and we’re connecting with as many people as possible to collaborate and share the learning.
The company is focused initially on providing solutions for the public sector because, thanks to the Welsh Government’s earlier net zero targets, it’s that sector where there is the most pressing need for solutions.
Williams says: “The aim when we opened the Centre was to cater to both public and private housing sides, however the need arose when the target of 2030 was set. Hopefully, we can upscale the market on the basis of social housing, and the skills will then be ready to trickle through into the rest of the housing sector.”
Newport as a location is central to the Robert Price branch network, but is also well placed to cover the Bristol area right down to West Wales. Pike says: “When we looked at this branch we knew it was perfect, it’s our largest branch by footprint. It has our civils sector here as well, with the yard split in half
with the builders’ merchants on one side and civils on the other. There’s plenty going on here, and we wanted to use this space to see how we can really future-proof the industry rather than just putting in another kitchen and bathroom showroom. It took a while for us to come up with the right fit, but with the added availability of rooms we could use as training facilities the overall offering came together.” The Centre is also offering a Training Academy in conjunction with suppliers, in particular Nuaire, Rolec, Daikin, Marley and Wetherby for EWI & IWI, more will be added in due course.
The Academy, while it will be useful for upskilling the wider customer base, is initially aimed at housing associations. “Each housing association has their own set of rules, so, over four innovation mornings we choose around five products to introduce to them,” Williams
January 2023
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
She adds: “There is an exciting business opportunity that we can make the most of with this Centre. There’s a huge need for the products, and, essentially as a merchant, we’re helping bring those products to market. From a personal objective of making the construction industry more sustainable, there is also an altruistic element. We’re in a position to help people and we want to make that happen. We’ve become a hub of knowledge and we’ve got people coming to us, in search of that knowledge.
“There are probably more profitable items we could stock but that wouldn’t be moving the housing agenda forward and playing our part in the future of construction. That’s really important in our offering to the customers, both public and private sector. We’re aiming to future-proof the industry, not just sell more bricks and blocks.” BMJ
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