IN CONVERSATION
rest of us to grow too. In the beginning, we would attend monthly meetings, and you had to go to them because that was where you picked up the rebate cheques. No show at the meeting, no rebate cheque that month.
NR: Eventually, though we realised that we had grown to the sort of size where we would need some infrastructure.
SS: To begin with we had a lady from Carron Building Supplies who acted as an unofficial secretary, and dealt with the accounts for all of us.
JN: After about 10 months we had Michelle from JT Dove who was seconded across as our credit controller working for NBG a day a week or so.
KP: We kept growing, and, of course, eventually, we had to bring in even more infrastructure, and a central team. The move to an LLP structure, which was spearheaded by Allan Durning, who we had brought in as Executive Chairman, really focused us, and pushed us as an organisation to get even more professional.
JN: When we bring in new Partners, we make it clear from the outset that we aren’t going to try and sell them into NBG. We go in to try and work out whether they are the right fit for NBG. And, as it’s a two-way process, like all recruitment, whether they feel that we are right for them too. The moment that you join NBG, subject to the six-month probationary period, you’re a full member. There’s no development section. You’re in, and your voice is equal to that of every other business in the group. It’s that equalising voice, which is so good for holding people accountable, because there can’t be any excuses. No one gets let off from doing their own thing or undermining the Partnership because ultimately, we’re accountable to each other.
KP: Everyone has their part to play. Even if they grow up and move on out of NBG. Huws Gray for example, were a huge part of our development, right up to the moment they left.
JN: Exactly. Our whole emphasis on category management owes a lot to Huws Gray’s Terry Owen who really pushed the concept through. It was his drive that got it really working. That category management and the determined focus we put on it really does make a difference when it comes to the actual deals and the pricing we are able to negotiate. No-one’s perfect of
January 2024
course, but we really do think that we are the most compliant of the buying groups. An NBG promise is a promise that carries weight.
SS: We are truly national. Sure, Scotland or the far west of Cornwall may be difficult at times for some Suppliers, but when you look at the broad brush, we really can offer national coverage. We have a great offering to a manufacturer because we can truly offer large national distribution. When we talk to manufacturers, we’re negotiating on behalf of the whole estate. Not part of the estate, the whole estate.
KP: The phrase I use a lot is bigger picture. I’m one of the smallest Partner businesses, yet I’m on the cement team, looking after one of NBG’s biggest deals. I have to understand what all the Partners need, what the bigger boys want, what the various regions need. That’s the vital mindset within an independent buying group, the ability and willingness to look at the bigger picture.
JN: When Partners have moved on, it’s not really set us back. In fact, it’s probably made us more confident that we can pull together and act as one voice. Huws Gray leaving in 2008 was, clearly, a big moment. I think everyone thought it would harm us. It surprised a lot of people that it didn’t. Then when LBS left there were the same concerns because Mark Davies is such a big personality and carries such weight in the industry. But it was the right move for them, and we respect that. When IBMG left, again, there was the concern that it was a big chunk of our turnover. However our view is that we don’t chase turnover. We want to give our Suppliers quality turnover, commitment to the deals, and consistency of supply that allows them to be confident in giving us the good buying deals.
SS: It’s just about evolution. People do grow up and move on. To be honest, when LBS left, the biggest loss for us was that of Mark Davies and Dai Thomas, rather than the loss of LBS as a Partner. And, if NBG provides a platform for companies to develop and grow and then move on, then I’d say we have served our purpose.
JN: Absolutely. We should never be ashamed of growing a small merchant and losing them. That’s what we are here for, to allow companies to grow and improve.
NR: It’s developing the Partnership for the greater good. That’s what we do. And we all have to step up and take our turn.
SS: So what does the future hold for us? I would
hope more of the same. We know what we are, we know what we want and we know what we’re good at.
NR: I think NBG reflects what the independent sector is about really. We’re always going to be strong because we’re always about the customer service, the local businesses that people do still want to buy from.
SS: I’m one of the original Partners and I want to be able to hand over things in a better position that when I took them on. I believe that NBG is in a better position now. It will continue to improve with us, and then without us. There’s a younger generation of Partners coming through who will take the tiller and steer the ship, and that’s what we want.
JN: If you look at the make-up of the Board now, there are single branch Partners on it, multiple branch Partners, females, males, older Partners, younger Partners. It’s a great mix.
NR: That mix will help us move into the future in a very strong way. The younger ones coming through will step up, just as we did.
JN: We do bring new people through, but we’re also not afraid to recycle. We’re never afraid to step away and move things around a bit and change because you’ve got to stay relevant.
KP: I think one of the things that we need to acknowledge is how much Managing Director Nick Oates has done for NBG in the past 10 years. When we started, we were a bunch of merchants who came together to arrange a few better buying deals, and we’ve evolved into something really quite special. We gradually got more professional as we grew, and, as I said, Allan Durning took us into the LLP, and that put us in an incredibly strong position. Over the last 10 years Nick has been a constant. He’s managed our business in an exceptional manner and his focus on the systems side of things has been incredible.
SS: He’s brought a different degree of professionalism, and it has moved us forward immensely.
JN: And of course Nick’s replacement will bring a new perspective again.
SN: Whatever happens, NBG has never been afraid to do new things, to take the organisation in a different direction if that is best for the Partners.
THIS IS YOUR LIFE SO FAR... 27
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