MERCHANT FOCUS: SECCOMBE


driving licence laws were changed had to put her job on hold until she was officially old enough to take the test and regain her truck. “This is such an interesting story because even now we are quite a male orientated workforce, with our job applications we are still getting a mostly male response. It is nice when we get female responses, but unfortunately, it’s not often enough. We are however seeing a stronger level of female involvement in the architectural and landscaping industries.” Not all stories have been documented, however, but have been lovingly passed down through word of mouth from generation to generation. “During the war my great- grandfather had stamps that allowed him to be one of the few still driving around because our trucks were also used to shift the rubble from the blitz affected areas of central London, to be tipped into quarries around here in what was then the outskirts. This area used to be orchard fields and farmland, which is how this yard started out.”


Another black and white photograph shows the still-recognizable yard but with a heard of cows heading into the barn which still stands and is in the process of being further protected and utilised by the modern business. “I never get tired of all the fantastic stories in our history. From newspaper clippings, events and even past employees with their nicknames, who are all characters in their own right. We are so proud of our history and how it has formed us as a company. That in-turn shapes our attitude to how we function today.”


Facing forward


Looking to the future, Seccombe says it will be vital to translate a long-standing business to the online world; “We are already on this- I’m a total tech-head. I’ve been ensuring we are making the most of the internet for the past 15-20 years, with the intent to have a strong online business for the past 10. In May 2017 we went live with our ecommerce trading website. The year before we had a total technological upgrade to provide the


platform for the website. The future doesn’t faze us at all.”


Sustainability on the other hand, is a trickier subject, “Because sustainability varies depending on the market you’re looking at, it can be hard to tell where all the ingredients of certain products are coming from. Our stock supplies for things like bricks can be an issue for us. If good suppliers of bricks dwindle, we will see quite a large and challenging gap appearing. It creates challenges for us if there isn’t a strong supply chain.”


A second test to the business, Seccombe says, is Brexit. “Yes, we are impacted by Brexit. I don’t think it really matters what side of the fence you were on. Right now it’s all about getting around to finishing the whole


procedure, because then we can start to look in one direction and allow the dust to start to settle and we can get on with the big picture. We see a lot of people, customers and alike, who are unsure of the current directions they are facing, which snowballs down the line. Everything seems to be stagnating a little bit, although the first quarter of this year for our industry seemed to be very positive so we are being painted a rather confusing picture…” “We normally push the BMF NBQ training programme.” says Seccombe, “We do also have our own internal training programmes, machine training and all the usual necessary training; and some suppliers also provide training days for our staff to get to know the products they’re selling day-to-day, which are very useful for building team spirit as well as knowledge.”


Seccombe says plans for the Isleworth yard are underway, with the listed barn building at their centre. “We want to make the visible history of the site a part of the business and bring people in to appreciate it. For an old cow shed, it’s a beautiful building and we feel the need now more than ever to promote our values as a family-run business, proud of our history.” BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2019


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