MERCHANT FOCUS: THOMPSON & LEIGH
Thompson & Leigh and Drakes had similar turnovers, around £7m each. Thompson is hoping to see some growth this year, pushing those numbers to north of £15m. Not that doubling in size in this way doesn’t come with its own set of challenges, of course. “Our purchasing doubles, but our credit limits didn’t. Suppliers aren’t going to simply double those limits just because we ask them to. We have to prove that we can do what we say we want to.” That said, both companies being members of Fortis helped, he adds. “We absolutely buy into the ethos of the group, about getting better deals by purchasing all together. However, we did have to bring in some supply lines that sat outside of Fortis, in order to really start rebuilding sales at margin at those branches that really needed it. Customers will initially be enticed back by price, then you keep them with stock and service. You can’t live on no margin. So, we just had to source better, and, yes, that saw us opening up some direct lines into importers. That worked very, very well for us. But then that’s our job, as merchants. To buy things at one price and sell them out at another.”
Thompson says that margins across the former Drakes branches are steadily climbing. “The Drake’s branches were heavily skewed towards heating, in particular the Fortis own-brand Infinity products. Whereas Thompson & Leigh had a broader profile. We are now moving the new branches more into bathrooms, because we prefer a better balance of trade.”
“We want to run each branch autonomously
around the manager, around the staff and let them see the benefits. Give them the freedom to do the jobs they’re brought in to do.”
Pushing the margins back up has been, Thompson says, the biggest achievement so far. “We’re getting the product mix right, and that is not only boosting turnover, but improving the margin. That means we’ll be able to continue with the rebranding and refurbishing of the branches that need it. If you want to sell bathrooms properly, you have to have showrooms that reflect the quality you are trying to sell.”
The aim is to have all the branches changed March 2026
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
to the new Thompson & Leigh branding by April. Thompson explains that last year was about survival and rejuvenation. This year is going to be all about tidying it all up, and getting it all running nicely together, and then looking at business development. “One or two of the branches may suit a kitchen offer, so that could be a direction we take them in. I’m a great believer in building business round people, so if we have someone who is good at kitchens, that could be a direction we look at.” In the more immediate future, getting the ecommerce website up and running is a priority, Thompson says. “That will be the next big thing, and through it we’ll be able to show local people how much we actually stock. It’s a vast offer. At Dartford we go all the way from 6-inch underground gas all the way to 4-inch copper, and from cheap sanitaryware all the way to the top end. That said, we’d never describe ourselves as a top end for the retail market. There are people like CP Hart and Ripples who really do that well. Bit I know that there really is a lot of money in the middle- market if you know how to get at it. Before all this happened, we had two standalone showrooms away from the merchant branches. Now we also have six merchant branches with showrooms on site. We just have to get on and make it all work.” BMJ
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