MERCHANT FOCUS: SECCOMBE
SECCOMBE BUILDERS MERCHANT
- A FAMILY FOR THE FUTURE In a 300 year-old farmhouse, a stone’s throw from central London, the third generation of the Seccombe family is surrounded by its heritage but looking firmly to the future. Elizabeth Jordan went to flick through their photo albums of the past and be shown the blueprints for the business they hope to become.
He grew his collection of materials that he’d sell on, gradually, storing them in unused corners of the yard.”
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ike many merchants, the Seccombe builders merchant business didn’t start out that way. Current managing director, John Seccombe points to the the treasured collection of black and white photographs that track the merchant’s history and growth, to demonstrate. “In 1926, or thereabouts, my grandfather started the business as a haulage company by borrowing money from his mother to buy a lorry to haul goods around the local area” he says. “He then started to grow his fleet and
employ people to drive them, however he soon found he needed more space, so that’s when he bought the yard here in Isleworth.” Percy Alan Seccombe was an astute businessman, neat and proper with a keen eye for detail and opportunity. “When the haulage company wasn’t particularly busy, he bought aggregate and would sell it to builders for a small profit, making additional profit on top of his haulage business. Slowly but surely there was a mixture and blending of the haulage and merchant sides of the business.
By the 1970s, Seccombe was a fully-fledged builder’s merchant, with the yard being used to its full potential. The haulage side of the business, in turn, began to shrink out of focus. Timber, plumbing and bathrooms then became a part of the business and a second branch was opened in Croydon. “If we don’t have it here then you won’t find it anywhere else,” Seccombe says. Pictures of old showrooms with peach and avocado bathroom suites from the showroom in the 70s/80s prove as much. “Our product listing has always been big, however even with the growth of the internet, we pride ourselves on being able to get a wide range of products to suit all of our customers.” A number of their historical articles are on show for customers, one of which tells the story of a 16 year old female lorry driver employed by the business in 1970 who after
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2019
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