NEWS EXTRA
a foot in both camps isn’t sustainable; no-one would really expect it to be. Whatever way we go one way or the other or even a different way completely -
it right and we don’t lose sight of that need to work together in a partnership and engage, then that is an incredibly powerful opportunity for suppliers. It’s good for suppliers and as a proper partnership it’s good for us as a business as well.”
Maityard says an important message for customers and suppliers is that it is business as usual. “We have two great businesses here, neither of which is broken, so we won’t be rushing in and fixing anything. We are going to run an ongoing process of observe, test and implement, looking at all aspects of the businesses and working out whether it makes sense to change something or to keep it as it is. If it makes sense to adapt and change something then we will, if it doesn’t, we won’t. If, further down the line it makes business sense to change some things - whether that be processes or branding - then we will. But only if it makes sense to do so for the good of the business.”
One of the things that will require some thought and planning of course, concerns buying groups. Parkers and Chandlers were founder members of their respective independent groups, NBG and Fortis - with Cope being the chairman of the latter. The issue is subject to what Cope says is “ongoing dialogue” at the moment. “Having
will be because we have looked at all the parameters and decided what is in the best interests of the business.”
He says that, as much as concentrating on the present running of a business, it’s vital to have one eye on the future. “As long as I have worked in the business Parkers has been my nearest and dearest competitor. There’s a logic to this move, although we weren’t actively going out there looking for it. There are always ‘what if’ conversations around the industry, some of those go somewhere, some of them don’t. Things might be going very well in a business, but you have to be careful that you don’t bury your head in the sand and assume that because it is OK today it will be OK tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. I care passionately about Chandler’s, about the business and about the people who work with me in it. For all those reasons you always ask yourself what the future is and what the right thing is for the future of the business. We could have carried on, we’d just had out best ever year and there’s no reason why that couldn’t have continued but we as shareholders wanted to do what we felt was best for the business. What was best for the business and for the people who work in it.
Advancement opportunities for employees
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net November 2019
across the enlarged group will also, Maityard and Cope believe, be another benefit. “Part of what we hope this move offers the people in Chandlers and in Parkers the opportunity to be recognised and the opportunity to move on within a wider group,” Cope says. “That’s always been one of the challenges we faced at Chandlers. If you have good individuals in a business where there is strong stability, you get a dead man’s shoes scenario. With the wider Parkers, Chandlers, Stamco and Fairalls group, we hope that there is a career path that can be opened up to people that we would have struggled to offer them before.”
From Cairngorm’s point of view, Maityard says the stated aim is to find and identify great quality businesses to invest in and help progress to the next level. “We also want to provide a safe custodianship for those businesses into the future. We are here to grow those businesses and invest in them because that is what their customers want. The businesses we have are fantastic, Andrew has built an amazing business and I want to work alongside him as a safe custodian of whatever has made that company good. I want to make sure we keep doing that.” Cope adds: “This market is all about change and success comes from trying to position you and your business in the best place possible to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. In any business you shouldn’t be frightened of change. There was a business here before we became Chandlers. This is the end of one chapter, bit it is most definitely not the end of the story. The question now is what happens next.” BMJ
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