Shopfloor RETAILER PROFILE: MARTINS OF HAWKHURST
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Miele has its own Home Economists and they
are always keen to do cooking demonstrations, so we try to take advantage of that as often as we can. But admittedly we used to do a lot more. Years ago we created a demo room downstairs; we had a big camera suspended from the ceiling linked up to a TV screen so people could watch. We also hosted with local chefs – often with a theme such as street food or ‘some like it hot’, as in the Marilyn Monroe film. Staff were encouraged to dress up accordingly to add to the atmosphere! Back in the 90’s we exhibited every year at the Kent County Show, which is a huge agricultural show. We were quite ahead of our time really; it was quite expensive and time-consuming, but not many other retailers like us were present there back then.
Q: It’s a tough market at the minute. How have you found trading conditions lately? JM: We are happy where we are right now. We’ve got a really good bunch of staff, we all get along like a little family. In fact, some of the guys have been here for quite a long time, they know what they’re doing and they’re really driving the business forward.
Last year was a good year for us, led mostly by kitchen sales I would say.
It’s a dream
purchase for most customers, so quite often when they go for it, they go for it! That’s not without its issues though; we weren’t the only ones experiencing issues with stock, but during the pandemic we got in early and bought anything and everything and just kept stock in our warehouse. This made us quite successful during that time, and still now I would say. Stock was moving fast after lockdown lifted – it was going out as fast as it was coming in. Customers were discovering that we had product, and of course our transactional website was live then too, so we were inundated with orders.
The only downside was that people were
ordering things but they weren’t ready to take delivery, especially where building or refurbishment work was running behind. So we were holding several appliances for individual customers and it all got a bit messy at times.
Q: With costs going up and increasing product prices across the board, what does this mean for you and your business? JM: Things are tighter for sure, but it’s the same for everyone. Today, people have more appliances than ever – they’ve got their wine coolers or their warming drawers or a combination microwave. Prices are creeping up across the board, but thankfully margins tend to be about the same as they’ve always been. The problems occur when customers start
driving you down on price, or they want you to match another retailer they’ve seen elsewhere, so we’re really careful with our comparisons. We offer delivery and full installation whereas other retailers in our area might not, so they might be cheaper. I can match those prices with curb-side delivery only, but often our customers expect more from us. But our team is great and they will always
take the customer through step by step; we just have to be thorough before we match anything – double checking where they’ve seen the other product, checking the model number, availability and what service is provided.
Q: What other issues do you think this industry faces at the moment? JM: Recruitment is really tough at the moment so you’ve got to keep your staff enthused otherwise they could end up going elsewhere. Our previous Service Engineer retired and there was no one to take over – I didn’t know how to recruit anybody for that role because it’s very technical with all sorts of qualifications required.
It’s an absolute skill to be able to confidently carry out repairs in a customer’s house. It’s a shame recruiting, training and retaining
staff has become so difficult. This is a huge, varied industry where technology moves on all the time; the bigger national retailers might find it easier, but I feel that smaller independent dealers struggle to find the right people for certain roles – so when you do, you can’t afford to lose them! There doesn’t appear to be a universal training course or apprenticeship scheme to encourage young people into the profession. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something tailored more towards this industry, especially appliance repairs? I went to the Euronics Showcase event earlier this year; I attended on my own, and that got me thinking, maybe retailers and manufacturers should be encouraged to bring their newest or youngest members of staff with them? They rarely have the opportunity to attend those kinds of events and I think that’s one of the best ways to learn and feel engaged in the industry.
Q: Do you have any plans for the near future? JM: Just keep doing what we do; at the minute everything appears to be working well. We’ll keep providing our local services, which we have become really well known for, but we’ve got to be reflective of market conditions. People need appliances and often can’t be without them if something breaks down, but it’s a different story for kitchens; these are big purchase decisions for customers and right now everyone’s being more cautious. So we’ll do our best to support our customers in whatever ways we can. We’ll keep our website ticking over, but to be honest I prefer to do business in store so we know we can provide that top level service.
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