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Executive Report: "We think bigger now" Robert Aplin pays a flying visit to Guernsey to visit Brandon’s new outlet, located within a Wolseley branch, to find out more about the ‘cross selling’ opportunities now available to the hirer. Following its acquisition by Wolseley UK, the country’s largest plumbing and building merchant, for £72m at the end of March 2006, Brandon Hire became the UK’s third largest tool and equipment hirer when Wolseley subsequently merged its own Hire Center operation into Brandon later that year. Currently operating 270 hire outlets – split, roughly, two thirds standalone outlets and one third ‘co-located’ operations – Brandon now seems set for further expansion. Since its acquisition, most of the original Brandon board and the Hire Center Brand Director have taken up other career opportunities outside the companies. A new Managing Director of the merged Brandon operation, Tim Smith, arrived from packaging group, Linpac, to take up his post in March last year. Having spent much of the last year overseeing both the physical and cultural integration of Brandon and Hire Center, as well as meeting key customers and suppliers, Tim Smith has kept a low profile in his external hire industry relationships. With the integration complete, and expansion well under way, he is now ready to talk openly about Wolseley’s plans for Brandon’s future development. Meeting up with him in Brandon’s Bristol Head Office for an initial discussion, I was then invited to visit Wolseley’s Guernsey branch, which now houses the latest Brandon operation opened three months ago. Joining us at this beautiful Channel Islands outlet were Tony Partridge, who was appointed Brandon’s Operations Director in June 2006, just after the acquisition. With 30 years experience in hire, the last 10 years with Brandon, Tony originally joined Torex Hire – one of the tool hire pioneers of the 1970s - as a hire controller when it operated just four branches. ‘Cross selling’ branch opportunities The Director with responsibility for the Guernsey operation is Mark Rousell, who has also been with Brandon for 10 years. He joined the company following its acquisition of Poole-based Rentequip – another of the pioneering hirers of the 1970s and certainly one of the most respected independent hirers in the south of England at the time. Mark is now responsible for Brandon’s Southern region of 80 outlets. Wolseley
UK
purchased
local
merchant
Wholesale
Supplies
(C.I.)
Ltd
in
1995.
On
a
one-acre
site
in
St.
Peter
Port,
Wolseley
operates
two
of
its
leading
brands,
Plumb
Center,
which
offers
heating
and
plumbing
products,
and
Electric
Center,
described
as
the
fastest-growing
electrical
wholesaler
in
the
UK.
The
Brandon
activity
was
added
to
increase
Wolseley’s
market
penetration
and
leverage
Within the branch showroom, Brandon has its own separate hire counter. Its own fast-moving hire items are located close to its counter, just as similar Plumb and Electric items are. The hirer also has its own separate storage yard, as well as an internal store area, and has also built its own workshop, which additionally undertakes a small amount of customer repair work. Tim Smith believes “with the addition of Brandon into the Wolseley branch, we are making better use of the site and the brands are co-supporting as we are sharing a common customer base. The principal brands provide an integrated offering and are all on the same IT platform. ‘Cross-selling’ between Wolseley brands has been trialled successfully elsewhere, and is one aspect that differentiates Brandon from its competitors. There are tremendous opportunities for us to develop within the Wolseley network. In addition, we will continue to open new standalone operations. In this financial year to July, we have opened 20 new outlets, of which the majority are standalone operations. “Plumb and Electric Centers are the two brands within Wolseley whose customers regularly hire tools and equipment. Typically, these clients tend to use scaffold towers, mini excavators, compaction plates and the like. As it was winter at the time, as part of our launch on the island, we handed out hundreds of Brandon ‘hi-viz’ jackets and, as these contractors return to their sites, they are making others more aware of our presence.” As this Guernsey operation is one of Brandon’s more ‘remote’ outlets, any complex repairs could be taken off the island and carried out in its Wimborne, Dorset workshops. Although the branch has its own resources to carry out specialist repairs, one of Brandon’s Southern Regional Technical Managers would travel out from the mainland with the necessary parts. Owing to its remoteness, Brandon’s fleet holding is higher than normal as there is not the opportunity to easily move equipment from a nearby branch. With minimal fit-out costs for the new activity, £200,000 has been invested in all-new equipment for the operation. 200 live accounts already Brandon has a team of four in Guernsey, comprising a Manager, Dan van Leeuwen, a sales assistant, mechanic and driver. Having worked for a local competitor, located in the same road, for over four years, Dan believes “the availability of the right equipment, the speed and efficiency of getting that equipment to the customer and my personal contacts are helping us to quickly establish a successful operation. In three months of trading, we already have 200 live accounts and revenue in April was double that of March. With a number of UK contractors working on the island, we are already looking to invest in more new equipment.” In assessing Wolseley’s influence on Brandon to date, Tim Smith believes “one of its most important benefits is its model of excellence in supply chain management. Aimed at its core merchanting brands, Wolseley operates a national distribution centre in Leamington Spa, together with a series of regional centres. Suppliers deliver in bulk to this network and each branch gets its deliveries from these centres.
“This
supply
chain
ensures
better
availability
of
product,
better
control
over
deliveries
and
a
better
range
of
equipment.
This
leads
to
better
utilisation
in
the
depot
because
less
stock
is
held.
For their part, the two experienced hiremen, Tony Partridge and Mark Rousell simply state “we think bigger now as there is much more investment in the business. Wolseley is a dream for Brandon and its passion for hire is as great as when the previous senior management ran the company. Brandon today still has the feel of the local independent that we both used to work for. Wolseley has kept within Brandon the components that are key to running a hire business. Wolseley bought real expertise when it bought Brandon.” • Executive Hire News › Archives › June 2008 › Executive Report › "We think bigger now"
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