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We want to keep moving forward,” asserts Grant & Stone
 We want to keep moving forward,” asserts Grant & Stone’s Marketing & Design Manager Darren House. “We already think we’re one step in front of the competition, but we want to ensure we are two steps ahead when the economy picks up.”
Such a philosophy will pay dividends at any time but it is a state of mind particularly pertinent as the country struggles to find its way out of recession. Headquartered in High Wycombe and with branches stretching out of Buckinghamshire and into Berkshire, Oxfordshire and West London, Darren asserts that whilst trade has obviously dipped, Grant & Stone is still taking on new accounts and is making strong in-roads into new trading areas following the opening of new outlets in recent years. For example, a large plumbing and heating branch in Amersham was opened in November 2006 and offers strategic supports to the existing builders’ merchant location in nearby Chalfont St Peter whilst in July 2007, a plumbers’ merchant and bathroom showroom started trading in Maidenhead followed shortly by an adjacent electrical wholesalers in September.
The firm opened its latest builders’ merchant branch in November 2007 in Pinner. The acquisition of a company called Lander Bros, this already established merchant was purchased to enhance Grant & Stone’s portfolio and expand coverage into West London. Finally, its most recent launch was a plumbers’ merchant and bathroom showroom which opened for business in Oxford just over twelve months ago.
 The National Buying Group member now has 13 trading branches across ten sites, with business approximately split at 50% heavyside / building, 40% plumbing and heating with two electrical wholesalers accounting for the remaining 10%. Darren explains that despite having to plan even more carefully as a consequence of the recession,strategic expansion has been at the cornerstone of Grant & Stone’s profitable growth and if the right opportunity at the right location became available, the company would consider the possibilities seriously.
“Expansion has been a hallmark of Grant & Stone,” notes Darren, explaining that the way the branches are run is central to their success. “Assessing our opportunities, finding the right location and supporting our existing branches are clearly massively important, but getting the right staff is key. All our branches are essentially run autonomously — our Chief Executive Nick (House) and Commercial Director Peter (Cudd) lead from the top and we don’t need any extra levels of management, as our branch managers are empowered to make the decisions they need.
“In fact, most of our managers have been promoted internally which means our other staff can see we recruit from within. That is great motivation for them — as we grow, they can see that there are opportunities to progress,” revealed Darren. New recruits will spend time shadowing experienced staff whilst the business has also utilised the training programmes available from the BMF, but in addition to the onus on staff development comes a real a focus on the needs of its customers. It is this which seems to underpin the real success of the firm — nothing is taken for granted and Grant & Stone works hard to ensure repeat custom.
Darren comments: “Our core business is builders and plumbers spending between £3-10k per month. And how do you win that business? You have to know your customers — by understanding what they need and want, and we are pretty good at this. We visit them or invite them for regular meetings, getting to know them, their types of businesses and the markets in which they operate.”
“We work hard to maintain these relationships by writing to them regularly, informing them of promotions or events and by making follow up calls. The more you work at it, the more likely they will stay and our competitors have to work even harder to take that business away. There are a lot of other merchants close to our branches in High Wycombe and it is all about customers knowing they can get the service from us. For example, a few years ago there were a lot of roadworks around one of our branches and we made sure our customers knew we made improvements to our delivery service to compensate whilst the work was going on.”
He continued: “Especially at the moment, it is all about having the product on the shelves. Keeping the right levels of stock, especially at a time when other merchants are de-stocking, is an important factor in allowing us to stand out. We made sure a couple of years ago that we took on two full time buyers — one for building and one for plumbing. The experience and knowledge they bring, not just in terms of materials but also on things like changes to Building Regulations, means we always get the right product at the right time.
“Being a member of the National Buying Group also helps us greatly in this area. They assist us with regular updates on market information, on what is selling and we can always talk to the other merchants in the Group about what they are doing.”
One specific area of focus for Grant & Stone is IT, highlighted by one of its corporate objectives declaring the stated aim “To be at the forefront of computer technology within our industry.” Darren revealed: “We’re not too far away from that desire. For example, we already use EDI to process invoices from suppliers but one key area is emailing invoices and statements to our account holders which speeds up the process dramatically and is also more cost effective for us.
“Customers receive their invoices next day which means they can invoice their own customers more quickly, ultimately helping with our cash flow — and it saves on stamps! Currently, roughly 25% of our database receive their invoices by email, equating to more than a third of our active customer accounts. More and more people are signing up to this service, and they are able to do so through our website. For some of our trade customers, we can also send invoices to two locations— one to the tradesman, and a ‘copy’ direct to his accountant. Ultimately, we want to push the service even further by allowing customers to access their accounts online,” explained Darren.
Additionally, Grant & Stone has recently upgraded its website which details a wealth of information about the company, its current promotions and initiatives such as trade days and support for local events. Customers can even order and purchase certain materials online, with Darren revealing that this brings in about £6-10k per month. The next step is to make available in-branch services such as kitchen planning though the site.
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