The Watson Hire crew - Michael, Shane, Kiera and Gordon. STEPPING OUT
Moving to larger or different premises is neither simple nor quick. Not so for Watson Tool Hire, which managed the entire process in just three weeks. Obviously, we were keen to find out more…
I
t’s not that Watson Tool Hire proprietor, Gordon Watson, was ever lacking in
ambition or that he wasn’t looking to expand his horizons. Indeed, when we last met in December 2021, he was already outgrowing his depot and was eyeing a site near to where his hire journey had begun. Wind the clock forward to the present, and he’s in an entirely different location with a much larger unit – an offer he simply couldn’t refuse, apparently, but his decision was to be more fortuitous than he could have known.
To say that the paint was still drying at Gordon’s new depot is no exaggeration, and yet it also seems that he’s been installed for some time now. Business has already begun to boom, but what precipitated this move and how long did it take?
“One of our customers, Darren from Garden Restorations, rang and told me that local agent Whittle Jones was offering a depot in South Shields. I said that we were interested, but we still had around five years left on our current depot lease. Anyway, I went to have a look and I realised that
Doves builders’ merchants had a massive unit just behind it, and I thought ‘wow’!
“My wife said it might be too big for us, but we took some measurements and I called the agent saying that I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. We’ve been here for nearly two months now, but the entire process of moving from one site to the other took just three weeks.”
That’s impressively quick. Did you get everything done in that time?
“Yes, we moved in on a Friday. Mandy and I started right away and everybody pitched in helping to move everything across from the old shop. It was mad for a while, as this also included building the workshop and a hire counter, as well as bringing in professionals to install the roller shutters, the CCTV, the telephone system and the broadband. Bearing in mind that we were still hiring equipment out at the same time!”
As I recall, your former depot was due to be flattened for redevelopment. Did that ever take place?
“Not yet, but we’d outgrown those premises so we couldn’t wait to move. I think the landlord is offering a ten-year lease on our old unit now. It was a horrible building but it was where we got started.”
This new depot is only a couple of miles away from your other place, although in a completely different sort of area. How did you let customers and suppliers know about the move?
“We did a lot on Facebook – my daughter Kiera really helped with that – and we put a big banner up outside the other shop. My wife also put a covering letter in with all our invoices letting people know that we had relocated. Even then, we still had people pulling up outside the other old shop, or ringing up asking if we had closed.”
In spite of relocation costs, the investment is already paying off – Gordon reporting that he’s been run off his feet ever since the move. Where is all this new business coming from?
“We’ve just taken on South Tyneside Council
14 Executive Hire News - July/August 2023
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 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
