search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
RETAILING


‘EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT’ S


ituated right on the High Street in the Somerset city of Wells, Whiting & Son is something of an institution.


“The business began in 1936


when JA Whiting bought Barnes and Son,” explains Michelle Machin, granddaughter of JA Whiting and proprietor of Whiting & Son. “He was the store manager there, but Mr Barnes wanted to retire and didn’t have any family that wanted to take it over. So, my grandfather bought it together with a Mr Richards, who took the plumbing side of the business, and my grandfather moved to this site with the hardware side. The original position of Barnes was further up the high street. My grandmother didn’t want to live above there as the ceilings were very low, so they bought this property for the grand sum of £1,000.”


The site has been extended over 22 DIY WEEK 16 JUNE 2017


the years, stretching back from the street then onto a second floor, and through to parking at the rear, now encompassing more than 3,000sq ft of retail space. It has been a long journey. “When my grandparents moved to this site they couldn’t really afford to do anything to the property,” Mrs Machin explains. “I’ve got the original bill for the new shopfront, which was £40, nine shillings and 11 pence. They couldn’t really afford to have it done, but the builder was very nice and knew they were a young couple. My grandmother did bed and breakfast upstairs and, every week, the builder would come and collect the bed and breakfast money which was paying off the £40!”


She continues: “My grandfather was in the First World War, and was on mopping-up duties at the end of the war when he met my grandmother. He didn’t want to come back to England without her,


so he married her. They worked hard, and saved and developed the business over many years.” She adds: “I came straight into the business from school. I was born upstairs in 1955, and came into the business when I was 18. It was my playground when I was growing up.” Her


son, Tony, joined Whiting


& Son nearly six years ago, after deciding he wanted a change from his career in IT. “Every day is different,” he explains. “It’s always something new.”


Mrs Machin adds: “It changes permanently. It’s not the same now as when I went into it. You didn’t have superglue, you didn’t have calculators when I started doing this.” Tony continues: “I enjoy the


variety. I like the problem solving. Someone can come to you and say, ‘I want to do this’, and then you help them work out how to do it, or you’ve got someone trying to retrofit something to get it to work again.”


Somerset hardware retailer Whiting & Son has been trading since 1936. Michelle Machin and her son Tony spoke to DIY Week about service, sales and looking to the future.


It’s a level of advice and service


which has become less common in the market, Tony believes. “There aren’t many shops


like us left;


you can buy individual screws, individual nuts, individuals bolts, you don’t have to buy packs,” he says. “If you want just ‘that’, you can get it, and we can get hold of most things we don’t have. We’ve got customers who’ve been coming here for years and years.” Part of the appeal is the depth of range, he adds. “We have about 10,000 lines,” Tony says. Of that, the majority comes through Home Hardware. “They’re our main supplier,” he continues. “We use them as a wholesaler and get around £20,000-worth


of stock through


Home Hardware every month. “Some things we order through Home Hardware, for some others we go direct, but we invoice lots of things through Home Hardware, like Horwood and Toolbank. Setting


www.diyweek.net


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