INDUSTRY INSIGHT RUNNING FASTER THAN THE COMPETITION


Andy Campbell, independent business development consultant, specialising in the gardening and DIY sectors, sums up the essence of competition.


T


here are two men walking through the jungle. Upon entering a clearing, they come across a very large hungry


looking lion. One sits down, takes off his rucksack and starts putting on his training shoes. The other says, “There is no way you will out-run the lion”. The first man replies, “I don’t have to run faster than the lion – I just have to run faster than you!”


This just about sums up the essence of competition – you just have to run faster than your competition to win the prize or, at its most basic level – to stay alive.


The important question is – who is


the true competition? At first glance, if you are an independent garden centre or home improvement store it might be reasonable to consider the nearby


garden centre or DIY multiple as your primary competition. However, these days with multi-channel


retailing


on the increase, it may well be the grocery multiple, the discounter, the mail order


catalogue, or the


e-commerce offer that is competing very aggressively for your business. All of whom are achieving market share gains. In reality, therefore, it might not be just one local outlet, the most obvious one, who is the greatest threat to your business. It could well be several types of retailer competing on several different fronts.


The only purpose in highlighting this point is not to worry everyone that the competition is coming after you from all directions, simply to raise the issue and throw down the challenge to say – what are you going to do about it? It would be very easy to spend a lot of time and effort being


concerned about the ever-increasing competitive climate out there. But I would strongly advise that all that effort and energy is challenged into how to differentiate your business from these competitors. Smaller businesses tend to have


three key strengths or resources that stand them apart from the larger players. They have a creative resource. Smaller businesses are after all the originators of most good ideas. They have a human resource. In general, they have dedicated knowledgeable staff who can offer real customer service. They also have flexibility, which means that as long as it doesn’t require excessive amounts of investment capital, anything is possible and you can achieve whatever you set out to achieve. So, in summary, my advice would


be to learn from the competition, not worry about them, and benchmark your offer in terms or range, quality, service, price, merchandising and marketing. Then focus all your


attention on gaining your


own points of differentiation and competitive advantage, improving the customer experience. This enhances your business as a brand within your catchment area, thereby ensuring customers will drive past the competition to come to you. The true gauge of a compelling retail brand offer.


Andy Campbell is an independent business development consultant, specializing in the gardening and DIY sectors at both the retail and production ends of the supply chain. If you’d like to get in touch with Andy, e-mail: andy@ andycampbellconsulting.co.uk or visit his website at: www. andycampbellconsulting.co.uk


BHETA CASE STUDY ‘LOCAL’ ENABLES CONTINUED GROWTH FOR URFIC A


ccording to George Linton, sales and marketing director at Urfic, one of the leading global manufac tur ers


of door handles for the home and construction industry: “After a very tough first half of 2020, sales bounced back in the second half and haven’t looked back since.” Having our manufacturing base in Portugal has allowed us to meet many of the market challenges surrounding container freight costs and delays, ” he says.


Founded in 1963 in Tondela in Portugal, Urfic


started activities


manufacturing brass fittings using a sand casting system. This process has been gradually developed and transformed thanks to the dynamism of its founder, Urbano Figueiredo da Cruz. Nowadays, the company provides highly desirable decorative door furniture which enhances both home and office environments. Ongoing commitment to the development of the manufacturing systems from the original sand


www.diyweek.net


casting to the current and modern computerised hot forging has put Urfic in a prominent position in International markets, with its high- quality products and constantly updated designs. Crucially,


products are made


only in the company’s factory in Portugal, something which has proved important in guaranteeing continuity of


supply and quality.


Except for a three week period at the beginning of the Covid Lockdown, the company has remained open for business throughout the pandemic supporting


customer needs


showed double digit growth and 2021 has kicked off very positively with sales year to date


showing in


DIY and hardware retail. With a dedicated team following all the Covid procedures, Urfic has been able to provide an extremely high service level to customers during this challenging period. This has been to the extent that when one of the company’s


customers was tasked


with categorising all suppliers into risk groups - very high, high, medium or low - Urfic was viewed as low risk, thanks to its local supply and local manufacturing facilities.


Sales for the second half of 2020


growth in excess of 30% versus the same period in 2020. Urfic has also been able to maintain its commitment to the development of new products for existing and


prospective


customers. It has introduced several new handle designs in both Plate and Rose formats plus new finishes including an exciting Slate Grey range with matching escutcheons and an expansion of its immensely popular Ebony Black range with matching latches.


Commenting on Urfic’s ability to expand over the last 12 to 18 months, sales and marketing director, George Linton says: “There have been and continue to be challenges for us


all in terms of material shortages and upwards pressure on costs to manufacture, but we have been fortunate that with manufacturing being in Portugal we are impacted much less by the challenges relating to the rest of the world and in particular the Far East. As we also have UK warehouse facilities, we were able to take decisions to increase our stock holding to further support our customer base and commitment to service levels.


“Our expectation for the remainder of 2021 is that the upward trend for the demand of our products continues with some sales growth attributed to our new product development. Using the market data supplied by BHETA we can see this trend is shared across most categories in the sector.”


For more information about BHETA and its networking and business support opportunities, contact BHETA Member Services on 0121 237 1130.


JULY 2021 DIY WEEK 23


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