decorating, glass & builders merchant | kent blaxill - 175 years … winter... · 2017. 4....
TRANSCRIPT
TRADELINES
INSIDE n Andy takes on Colchester n Early bird starts n Glass innovation n Duravit displays
nKB staff, customers andsuppliers raised £10,000
for the CLIC Sargent charitywith a 175-mile cycle rideround the company’s eightEast Anglian branches inSeptember.A total of 58 riders took part
in the ‘KB Tour de Branch’ whichstarted at Braintree at 6am andfinished at the company’sColchester headquarters at7.15pm. The relay, in whichriders competed in teams of four,was one of the company’s 175thanniversary events.
“We have had great feedbackfrom those that took part,” saidSimon Blaxill, KB managingdirector. “Everyone fromexperienced riders to relativenovices participated in greatspirit, which along with good
Cycle ‘Tour’ raises charity cash
THE NEWS AND VIEWS AT KENT BLAXILL WINTER 2013 ISSUE: No 68
175 Years Built On Trust
McConnachiestarts withservice targets
nRon McConnachie hasjoined Kent Blaxill as
commercial director. Ron(pictured) brings a wealthof experience and a highlycommercial mindset,having previously beenchief operating officer atRapid Electronics Ltd andbefore that operationsdirector at Smith &Brooks Ltd.
nKent Blaxill has drawn up acustomer charter following asurvey over the summer of more
than 600 KB users.The survey found that 68% of customers
rate their relationships with Kent Blaxill as‘very good’ or ‘outstanding’. However it also highlighted some areas
for improvement. As a result the customercharter has been drawn up in which KentBlaxill pledges to:l Be helpful – we want to ensure that ourstaff are unfailingly cheerful,knowledgeable and willing to go the extramile for our customers.
l Offer fair and clear prices – we willregularly benchmark against othermerchants to ensure our prices are fair.
l Save our customers time – we aim tomake the entire process of searching,buying and receiving products from us aseasy and time efficient as possibleRon McConnachie, commercial director,
said: “We take our customer feedback veryseriously. We had some complaints aboutgetting help in the yard so we have putcustomer service agents in clear purple veststo rectify this. “We had complaints about the quality of
our timber so we have implemented stricter
quality controls to address this. We believethe quality of our timber is now the best andthe most competitive in the business. I wouldlike to hear what our customers say aboutthese changes.“We will provide ongoing training to all
our staff, we will continue to listen to ourcustomers, and we will change things for thebetter.”The survey highlighted that many staff are
helpful and knowledgeable and that thecompany offers a wide range of qualityproducts. It also indicated that manycustomers believe the market will improvenext year.
Continued on page 2Continued on back page
Customer charter unveiled
The Tour sets off onthe Ipswich to Kirby leg
Tradelines Winter 2013 kentblaxill.co.uk
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nAndy McMahon hasbeen appointed as thenew KB Colchester
branch manager. Andy, 35, waspreviously a highly successfulmanager at the Bury StEdmunds branch, having earnedpromotions after joining thecompany as a salesrepresentative in 2006.“Andy has a very strong
customer focus and will be ensuringwe improve in areas where wecan,” said Ron McConnachie,commercial director. “He will alsobe aiming to make us even better inareas where we do well. “Andy has already made a big
impact in his career at Kent Blaxill.”Andy said: “I will be aiming to
improve the Kent Blaxill experiencefor the customer visiting the branchand ensuring we have a feelgoodfactor for customers and staff alike.We want to improve communicationwith the customer and I will also bemaking sure that the branch is ingood shape for what promises tobe an exciting year in 2014.”Andy and his team have already
made a number of improvements atColchester. These have included:l The introduction of purple vests inthe yard area to indicate customerservice champions, withwarehouse staff and forklift driverswearing yellow and orange.
l Improved signage in theColchester store, with a layout
redesign being planned.l Ensuring that timber is of adependably high quality.Andy explained: “We have a
very big and busy yard atColchester and I know it cansometimes be difficult to find
someone to help. With thecustomer service champions wearingpurple, it is much easier to identifythe right person for assistance.“The large yellow signage in the
store should also make it easier forpeople to find their way around.”
Simon Blaxill, KB managingdirector, said: “We are verypleased Ron has joined us. He hasan outstanding record that demon -strates strategic thinking, vision
and delivering impressive results. Ron said: “I am delighted to
have joined Kent Blaxill at such anexciting time. KB, through its 175-year heritage, has built a strongstable business and a loyalcustomer base. We live in an evermore competitive world whichbrings new challenges and I wantto get the company activelylistening to its customers and
responding to their needs of today.So the message to the team at KBis to focus on our customers andexcel in customer service. It hasbeen a tough few years butthrough a simple focus on beinghelpful, offering a wide range ofquality products at fair and clearprices, and saving our customerstime, we will be the number onemerchant in our trading areas.”
DuravitdisplaysrevampednA new range of
design-led Duravitbathroom displays,including some excitingnew products, can nowbe viewed in the KBColchester showrooms.Duravit is a German
manufacturer of mid totop-end ranges thatfeature clean lines suitablefor both modern andtraditional bathrooms.“The new Happy D 2
range has now beenlaunched,” said PeterLast, showroomsmanager. “It is morestreamlined and has newwood colours for thefurniture.To complement the
Duravit displays, there isa range of Porcelanosatiles. Stiffkey Blue andPurbeck Stone fromFarrow & Ball’s newcolour range also feature,in addition to a bay oftravertino venetianplastering.“Additions have also
been made to Starck 3,the iconic range designedby Phillippe Starck.”To widen the appeal
of Duravit, a new‘Durastyle’ range hasbeen brought in whichwill provide Duravitdesign and quality, butwhich is moreeconomically priced.
Continued from page 1
McConnachiestarts withservice targets
Andy acts to raise standards
Janine takes on sales challenge
nJanine Scarff(pictured) has
joined Kent Blaxill aspainting and deco ratingrepresentative for theColchester, Sudburyand Braintree areas.
Janine, who lives inThorpe-Le-Soken, comeswith a strong trackrecord during 14 years insales.“Her brief is to
develop the company’s
decorating business in herarea,” said Andy Cherry,decorating sales andoperations manager. “Sheis a high calibre operatorwho has already made anexcellent start.”
Andy in one of the purple vests nowbeing worn by customer service staff
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kentblaxill.co.uk Winter 2013 Tradelines
nSudbury branchcustomers can now
view displays demonstratingboth traditional andcreatively new uses ofglass. On show arebespoke glass showerenclosures, balustrades,splashbacks, shelving,shaped polished mirrorsand coloured glass, as wellas secondary glazing.The installation of the
displays at Sudbury followstheir introduction at theIpswich branch earlier thisyear.“Glass is viewed as an
increasingly versatile and invogue design material,” saidSteve Last (pictured), glass
and glazing sales andoperations manager. “It isbeing used in all sorts ofimaginative ways and is nolonger viewed only as aglazing product.“Bespoke shower screen
sales at the Ipswich branchhave involved both customerdesign ideas and input from
our own trade staff.”Kent Blaxill is also now
one of the few authorisedretailers in the country of Q-Rail glass balustrades.The glass counter at
Sudbury is manned by AndyChaplin. “Andy has a lot ofexperience and technicalknowledge of glass and glassproducts,” said Steve.l Meanwhile the KB glassdepartment is seeing a sharprise in the sale andinstallation of both PVcu andaluminium windows anddoors. “Most recently wehave had a £50,000 contractto supply PVcu windows forfour houses in Billericay,”said Steve.
n It is now official – the 7amearlybird opening time at the KB
Colchester and Bury St Edmundsbranches is to become permanent.Following highly successful early-
opening trials at the two branches overthe summer, the 7am start will nowcontinue throughout the winter months.“The early opening trial has been such a
success that it was a no-brainer to continuewith it,” said Andy Whitney, building salesand operations manager. “Service ticketsindicate that we have over 30 customersduring the first half hour, significantlyextending the morning busy period. “It has also brought in a number of new
customers who have then seen the rangeof items we stock. Word seems to bespreading around to others and we havebeen getting very positive feedback.Weeven had some successful breakfastmornings supported by manufacturersover the summer.” The Sudbury, Norwich and Ipswich
branches are also now opening at 7am,with others at 7.30am.
Glass sparkles in branches
n It is all change atSudbury where Dawn
Harrington has beenappointed branchmanager of the newlyrefurbished store.Dawn, who has been at
Kent Blaxill for eight years,was previously designerpaints supervisor at Sudbury.“Dawn has a strong retail
background and hasdemonstrated enthusiasm, aneye for detail and hardwork,” said Andy Cherry,decorative sales andoperations manager.Of the store makeover,
Dawn said: “We have had avery good response fromcustomers. The store nowfeels cleaner and more
spacious, it is easier to findproducts and it is generally amore pleasureable place tovisit.”The refit has included a
complete overhaul of theground floor with newly
painted flooring and walls,new racking, refurbishedcounter and new signage.“The staff did much of the
work, coming in early, stayinglate and working atweekends,” said Dawn.
Earlybirdopenings
Dawn puts somefinishing touches
to the Sudbury refit
Online roll-out sees Internet sales soaringnKent Blaxill’s Internet
sales have doubled sincelaunch last year, proving thatthe site is a valuable additionalinformation and tradingchannel for customers. “We are listening to what our
customers want and arecontinually adding products tothis end,” said Gareth Chambers,online trading manager. Development plans for next
year include the launch of land -scaping and tool products online,together with a customer portal. “We also have plans to
develop the functionality of thesite to include mobile and tabletapplications,” said Gareth. “Weare focusing on our customers’needs and delivering what theywant to save them time insearching and purchasing theproducts they desire.”
Dawn brightens Sudbury
Kent Blaxill & CompanyLimited
COLCHESTER CO2 9JY%: 01206 216000
BRAINTREE CM7 3GZ%: 01376 335999
BURY ST EDMUNDSIP33 3TX
%: 01284 [email protected]
IPSWICH IP3 0AB%: 01473 341330
KIRBY CROSS CO13 0LY%: 01255 679161
NORWICH NR2 4UX%: 01603 628973
SUDBURY CO10 2FT%: 01787 372241
WOODBRIDGE IP12 1RB%: 01394 384255
Dot leaves forpastures new
weather helped to make it a fantastic day outfor all. Many of them have asked whether wewill hold it again next year.”Cyclists included Simon Blaxill and his son
Josh, board member Ben Kent, as well asRichard Cutter and Stephen Marshall fromthe Colchester branch; James Park and KrisTowells from the Ipswich branch; and ChrisPeverett from the Bury St Edmunds branch.
Welcomes and feed stations wereprovided at all the company branches –Braintree, Sudbury, Bury St Edmunds,Norwich, Melton, Ipswich, Kirby andColchester.CLIC Sargent was designated as the event
charity after the support it provided for ayoung Kent Blaxill employee in Colchesterwho sadly died of cancer in August. “It is acharity close to the hearts of a lot of people
at the company after the fantastic support itprovided,” said Simon Blaxill.Other riders taking part in the event came
from Kent Blaxill customers – includingHorizon Construction, Rose Builders,Greenleaf Joinery and TJ Evers. Andmanufacturer and supplier teams taking partincluded those from main sponsor CrownTrade, as well as Stoneham Kitchens, Spax,Expamet, Ibstock, Rixonway, Global Stone,All About Bricks, XL Joinery and Tembe DIY. Anyone wanting to sponsor the riders
can find details at:www.justgiving.com/teams/KB175
‘Tour’ raises charity cash
Tradelines Winter 2013
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Website: www.kentblaxill.co.uk
kentblaxill.co.uk
nDot the KentBlaxill-sponsored
giraffe led the herd atthe Stand Tall auctionevening held at firstsiteart gallery in Colchesterin September. Dot was the first of
the 30 giraffe sculptures,which have been onparade around Colchesterover the summer, to beauctioned off at the galaevening. Dot went for £3,200
before leaving for hernew home in Stanway.Overall the auction raised£115,000 for ColchesterZoo’s charity, Action forthe Wild.The sculptures were
all sponsored by localbusinesses and painted bylocal artists beforebecoming part of a giraffetrail around Colchesterover the summer.
nBob Asbridge wasthe first winner of
the KB customer careaward, which waslaunched in May.Lorry driver Bob was
nominated for helping acustomer open an account.Bob is pictured left
receiving his award fromAndy Whitney, buildingsales and operationsmanager.
Continued from page 1
nCustomers can wina luxury Christmas
hamper worth £104.60 ifthey buy Hamiltonproducts at any KB store.Customers who spend
over £20 plus VAT onHamilton products willqualify for a chance to winone of the eight hampers.The event closes onDecember 13.
Bob wins customer care award
Win a hamper for Christmas
The Tour line up during the 20-minute lunch break at Norwich