MERCHANT FOCUS: OTFORD BUILDERS MERCHANTS O


BM was founded by my father, John Sparrow as an off shoot of his existing construction and development business. His purpose was to make OBM a one-stop builders’ shop as he was unhappy with having to use so many different merchants for his materials at the time, however he had no merchanting experience, so he recruited Pat Fisher to run the business. Pat set about building the stock levels and customer base with great diligence, and OBM grew quickly. However, Pat was struck down by cancer and passed away a matter of weeks after his diagnosis. His loss could have halted OBM in its tracks, but fortunately my father recruited Jim Ellis who took over the reins and built OBM over the next 40 years into a multi-million-pound business.


Jim retired nearly 10 years ago but is still very much part of the OBM family and still works as a consultant to the business. We took on a new depot in Ashford in 2012 which has proven to be a successful enterprise.


Our anniversary celebrations are modest focussing on the fundamentals which have made the business successful, our people and customers. We are running prize draws for both throughout the month of August with all proceeds going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, a charity which is very dear to the team at OBM.


Unfortunately, our usual annual fund-raising efforts have been hindered by the pandemic restrictions, so this is an opportunity for us to support the MNDA and highlight the important work that the charity carries out as well as to have some fun with our customers who never fail to support us with these events.


xhead


OBM’s “birthday party” took place this Autumn and was a 1970s inspired dress-up day, again to raise vital funds for our chosen charity with a small private celebration for all staff at the end of the day on site at Otford, also attended by three


generations of the Sparrow family. We are very excited to celebrate with our workforce who have worked tirelessly over the last year and a half to sustain the success of OBM.


OBM is a multi-generational family business, which is increasingly rare in the modern


November 2021 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


CELEBRATES 50 YEARS


OBM


Otford Builders Merchants managing director Blair Sparrow talked to Catrin Jones about celebrating the merchant’s fiftieth anniversary – where the company started and where it anticipates the future will lead.


world. As such, our ambitions have always been modest and our objective has always been to build a strong and robust company, which is reflected in our balance sheet. The family have avoided taking excessive dividends from the business over the years, and it is this strength that enabled us to weather the uncertainties brought about by recessions and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic. We have never sought to stretch the company finances by rapid expansion, and instead have grown organically. That said, we are always open to new opportunities.


Our future has shifted in their timeline; for the immediate future we are fully focussed on


building our team and coping as best we can with the current material shortages and rampant price inflation. Beyond that, we are looking for additional premises and opportunities. The next generation of the Sparrow family are still in education and training but showing interest in joining the company. This will be their choice, however.


OBM seeks to provide excellent customer service and develop strong bonds with our customers. Our business is based on mutual respect, as the founding family have experience of both sides of the Trade Counter. We also benefit from our employment policies, with a higher-than-average female representation among our staff. We hope to build on this in the future and continue to provide a “family” team atmosphere that can’t be replicated in larger organisations. BMJ


25


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  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48