RETAILING


“WE NEED TO OFFER


the Year, thanks t I originally the


n choosing Browns as


winner of


the coveted title, Home Hardware Southwest took into account the shop’s professional


approach to retailing, including promotions, store layout, staff training, customer care and overall commitment to Home Hardwar e. “I’m delighted that Brown’s Home Hardware has won this award” says Home Hardware Southwest chairman David Adams. The business has come a long way since it was founded in 1913. Its current owner, Nic k Green , business


r, joined the


as a Satur day boy back in 1974, before becoming manager and then partner in 1986. Having spent so many years helping to develop the business, when the opportunity to buy Br owns pr esented itself in 2007, Mr Gr een jumped at the chance. Not one to stand still and, with ambitious plans to continue to gr ow the business, Mr Green developed a large area at the back of the stor e into a ‘secret’ garden centre in 2016 – a concept that has “pr oved very successful for both them and their customers,” says Home Har dwar e’s David Adams.


Mr Green, who is delighted with the win, says: “It’s like having a restaurant and gaining a Michelin star and winning the ‘Great British ff’ or ‘Strictly Come Dancing’


Bake off


– all in one! From planning to fruition it has been a mammoth journey The family-run shop, which counts Mr Green’s


partner


rney ner


y..” r,,


his


son, and step-daughter amongst its workforce, stocks a good range of DIY products,


including tools, painting and decorating supplies, www.diyweek.net


and ironmongery,y,, and also offers key cutting, as well as gardening pr oducts and plants, which ar e now more at home in its garden centre. Discussing the shop’s journey and recent investment in creating the garden centre ar ea, Mr Green says: “Any project in this day and age is a calculated risk; a step out of your comfort zone. Our curr ent ambitions are to maintain freshness, keep that ‘wow factor ’ and, dare I y,, be profitable.


say Evolving is not


sitting back, it is keeping it fr esh and is key to success.” Creating


the garden centre area


was something Mr Green always had in mind to do to enhance the shop’s gardening of


off Wi ffer; it was just


a case of finding the ideal time and having the financial backing in place. With support from Home Hardware and BIRA, the shop has been able to convert what Mr Green describes as “essentially a waste ground” and two store rooms, into prime We’ve always done ys. “W


retail space. “We e’ gardening,” he says. “W “W We’bWe’ve been


Gr een explains it is just a “dif way of retailing”. We


s just a e literally buy


str ong in that category for a long time but a lot of the stuf f we stocked and that people came in to ask for we had to get from the store room. w,, yes we are able to stock more but also, what used to be hidden away in a store room, can be on display and it sells a lot more easily The change and loss of storage space means the shop no longer holds as much back-up stock but Mr s just a “differ ent


ame in to ask for Now y..” ff


“We literally buy and sell, so we turn over the stock a lot faster . It means we can’t always take advantage of some of the buying deals but we now have mor e r etail space, so that helps the cash-flow.” He adds: “A lot of Home Hardware


15 DECEMBER 2017 DIY WEEK 21 r,,


retailers actually operate the same way now because you can order what you need in time fr om Home Hardware and, with EPOS systems now, you aw,, you are mor ff


e efficient.” celebrating


And, while the business is the recognition it


received with the accolade, Mr Gr een explains there is still much to be done to keep Browns moving forward, as well as his own r esponsibilities within the Home We won’t


Har dware organisation: “We


be resting on our laur els – ther e is still much work to be achieved. e will be developing a new website and, as an active member of the Home Hardwar e Pr omotions Committee, I am personally dedicated to supporting the product activity for the gr oup.”


We will We


Having been a member of Home Hardwar e Southwest for mor e than a decade, Mr Green is well versed on what being part of the group and its marketing support can do for an independent r etail business like


RETAILING


CUSTOMERS YA


AN ENJOY ABLENJOYA EXPERIENCE”


Brown’s Home Hardware in Pershore is celebrating been named Home Hardware Retailer of Ye r, , thanks to its drive to keep moving forward and making shopping fun


his. “It is the small things that help to cement the foundations of any business. I joined Home Har dwar e in 2005, having looked at alternative wholesalers as a means to assist my business with suppliers and marketing support. I soon learned that the Home Hardware pr omo leaflets pushed footfall through the stor e mor e than any advert in any local newspaper could promise..” Mr Gr een describes joining Home Hard ware as “joining a fa mily stressing how har d the organisation works to help its members increase their sales.


Meanwhile, the y,,” business may


have a rich history but Mr Green insists, he’s not looking to the past – “it’s more the futur e I’m inter ested in,” he says.


“A business has to evolve with the customers…People still like shopping – you just have to make it an enjoyable experience for them and tha t’s what my team a nd I strive to do every day


trive to do every day y..”


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