INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: EFG HOUSEWARES


EVERYTHING YOU NEED UNDER


Mike Smith, Head of Field Sales at EFG Housewares


Please tell us a bit about your company Founded in 1975 by brothers Alan and Trevor Shipton, EFG Housewares is one of Britain’s largest independent wholesale businesses serving the housewares and DIY market. Based in Enfield, North London, EFG has been trading at the same 110,000sq ft location for over 45 years. Alan and Trevor are still involved today, with the day-to-day business now being run by their sons Daren and Mark, so it is still very much a family run concern, with family values at its heart. The company has certainly developed and grown over the years and now has over 70,000 SKUs in stock at any one time and a fulfilment rate of over 90 per cent.


The business is split into four divisions – wholesale, website, own label and export – and sells to over 75 countries worldwide and employs over 100 people. We are the only genuine wholesale online company that covers all product ranges for you to buy from just one supplier. EFG is


also now a with sourcing


agent across the Far East, due to the company’s close working relationship


e-commerce


sellers such as Amazon, Ebay and daily sales sites. The EFG teams can therefore source products across many categories.


Can you tell us about your role? I have been with EFG for two and half years and I currently hold the position of Head of Field Sales. I am responsible for EFG’s delivery


ONE ROOF


DIY Week speaks to Mike Smith, Head of Field Sales at EFG Housewares to find out more about the company, how it’s helping customers during the Covid pandemic and to learn more about its latest developments and initiatives all designed to provide the best customer experience, service and support.


business, along with updating the company’s online presence and e-commerce capabilities. It is important to stress that EFG is not just a North London wholesaler anymore; we are a national and international supplier, with the brands, the products and the people to make sure we can offer the best service in the marketplace to our customers. I honestly believe that EFG is best placed to assist our thousands of customers in these turbulent times.


What is your main focus at the moment? Our new website went live just before Christmas, so there has been a lot of focus on delivering that. It has a much improved search facility so it presents customers with more accurate results, meaning they can find the products they need much faster. We have also added much clearer descriptions to all our products. The website now also features Sage Pay, which offers a much clearer and user-friendly interface, allowing customers to make payments a lot easier. As the company has grown, it has, like many businesses, had to be mindful of managing cash flow, as it wants to ensure it has the right stock on the shelves at the right time and that’s always a challenge, but the owners of the business always stated that ‘if we don’t have it, we can’t supply it’. This has been brought sharply into focus as EFG has recently launched a number of our own brands that take capital to develop. These include our Bright and Homely range (which covers fans, heaters and Christmas lights) and Green Habitats that offers the consumer/store a value proposition in the garden arena (selling everything from BBQs to hoses), which has been featured on Instagram by influencer Mrs Hinch. At EFG we also know just how important having the right seasonal products is and with a huge garden and Christmas department, we can be the destination and a partner to maximise your summer and winter offerings.


And what do you see as your main challenges? As with all businesses, the current uncertainty in the UK market has made EFG take a look at its business


8 DIY WEEK FEBRUARY 2021


retailers to be that destination for this massive growth area.


model and last year we decided to invest when other companies were cutting. We want to be able to bring the ‘EFG difference’ to a wider national high street audience and to support the shop owners with a great new service, now and in a post-Covid world. So as a company we decided to venture more into delivered wholesale to work alongside our busy Enfield-based cash and carry which caters for DIY, kitchen, home, giftware, toys, toiletries, cleaning, pets, stationery, seasonal and many others. At EFG we understand how hard it is to get a foothold in this competitive market, but that’s exactly what we’ve been able to do over the last 18/24 months and those customers who have joined us now see us as a great value and flexible delivery partners. So we can bring both speed and selection to the marketplace and there are now many, many stores and ecommerce businesses experiencing what we can offer.


Are you currently working on any new projects? We pride ourselves in keeping a clean, tidy, and well-stocked warehouse in Enfield, and we have carried this across onto our new trade website. It now offers a fast, user-friendly shopping experience for our retail buyers, all from the convenience of their office or home, 24/7, 365 days of the year. Opening an online account with EFG Housewares will enable you to enjoy the same great service and range our in-store customers do. We have also updated some of the brands we carry and now offer a ‘good, better, best’ strategy, whilst remaining true to our core belief of offering great value. EFG has also recently very much taken up the green mantle and with a huge new ECO-Range, we again believe we are best placed to assist


Do you have any tips and advice for retailers facing the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic? My main advice is to buy products when you see them and while they are available and buy extra, as getting a regular supply of stock at the moment is proving a challenge. Our warehouse is still well stocked and very much open for business and we have put a lot of measures in place to ensure a Covid safe environment, such as a one-way system, social distancing and regular cleaning and sanitising.


Going forward, what’s keeping you busy? As we transition from a very challenging year with a hope of a brighter post-Covid


future, EFG


is well placed to partner with DIY and hardware stores up and down the land who have felt potentially neglected or taken for granted by their current suppliers. We will always supply retail-ready product from our new updated website, first time every time, and as a business that continues to evolve as we take on board feedback and suggestions from our customers on how to further improve our business. And while the Covid pandemic has dramatically increased the volume of Internet purchases and hastened the move towards more online shopping, I believe that when we eventually come out of lockdown there will be a resurgence in high street shopping, as people want to get out again and do something different. From giftware, DIY and garden


products, to toys, partyware, electrical items, plasticware, toiletries, £1 retail, seasonal products and so many more categories, EFG aims to offer our trade customers the very best service. This is in addition to the fact that we house every conceivable product under one roof and on one website, creating the ultimate in convenience for our busy trade buyers.


To find out more about EFG Housewares, please visit:


www.efghousewares.co.uk 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  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36