fixings

[boltex]

Hi everyone. I am planning to open a new distribution company over the next few months where we will be supplying to the construction industry. The products we will be selling are:-

fasteners
fixings
adhesives, silicone, sealants
abrasives
ironmongery
power tools
hand tools
safety wear and equipment
unistrut support systems
hand rail guards

For our market research, I would really appreciate it if you lot could help me out by giving me a rough idea of your monthly or annual spend on each of the above categories and who you currently buy these products from.

It would be great if you can also tell me what you like about your supplier and what you would change to make life easier for you.

I look forward to your replies as they will be very helpful to me. Thank you ��

Nick

 

[noseall]

Having the technology to monitor when you anticipate your regular account customers are low on stock so you can automatically red flag them or re-stock them, would be handy.

We tend to go for quality options rather than cheap, as experience proves that in the professional arena, failures don't come cheap.

However, this does not apply to all, so a choice across the board is good.

You are delving into a very competitive and already burgeoning marketplace.

We spend about 50 quid per month on fixings and sealants etc.

Tool expenditure can vary a lot, but would average out to about a hundred per month.

 

[boltex]

Thank you very much for your reply, noseall.

I have been in the fastener industry for many years now, so with it being a very competitive industry is nothing new to me. However, from experience we understand that quality is very important, hence why we only sell high quality brands (i.e. Fischer for fixings). Along with this we also aim to be very competitive on price and offer a first rate service. We have invested tens of thousands of pounds into a top quality e-Commerce site where all products will be listed with adequate price breaks, live stock levels and ability to use credit accounts etc. We will be offering customers various benefits, including yearly rebates depending on the customers spend. I really feel that we will have a massive advantage over our competitors.

May I ask what it is you do exactly, noseall? And do you work for yourself? You say that you usually spend £50 per month on fixings, adhesives etc. Do you tend to use the same items month by month or does it vary? May I also ask who your current supplier is and service they offer you (next day delivery, do you prefer to pop into the trade counter yourself?).

As I say, your reply means a lot ��

Nick

Nick

 

[joe-90]

I can't help thinking you've made a very expensive blunder spending how much on an ECommerce site? All you had to do was open an Ebay shop and take it from there. I don't know your company. and what I do know is that no matter which way I head from home I'll be within 10 minutes of a Screwfix trade counter. Sorry mate but we really don't need you in the marketplace. How many lines do you stock? 30,000? You need an investment of millions and the market doesn't need you. There's a shop local to me that does all the things that you are suggesting, and he mixes paint. He's dead cheap, really nice chap - but I've never been in there when anyone else is in there. It's only a matter of time until the doors close. That ECommerce investment will sink you. You should have talked to us first. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[noseall]

May I ask what it is you do exactly, noseall? And do you work for yourself? You say that you usually spend £50 per month on fixings, adhesives etc. Do you tend to use the same items month by month or does it vary? May I also ask who your current supplier is and service they offer you (next day delivery, do you prefer to pop into the trade counter yourself?).

I work for myself.

I run a small building company, very..er boutique.

We turn out domestic extensions and EVERYTHING else in between, i.e. from foundations and drains to finished plastering.
We tend to deal with mainly first fix, carcassing and modest amounts of second fix stuff like skirting boards, internal doors and casings, archies, window boards, shelving etc.

External fixtures includes fascias, soffits, guttering down-pipes etc.

All associated stuff like landscaping, fencing, gates, and such like is also in our repertoire as is stuff like storm porches with gallows brackets, oak columns, plastic soffit clad etc.

We don't deal with electrics, plumbing (heating) or decorating at all. We tend to stay away from kitchens, bath or bedroom stuff or tile or floor finishes though we do take on these tasks if the job size demands, like with some smaller extensions.

I try to buy all of my stuff across the counter and keep it local. Two of the builders merchants where i spend the most money are family run businesses originally and cater for most of my fixings and sealants etc. I also use plastics companies locally too where i can buy Soudal products because i like their super glue, silicone and foam.

 

[boltex]

Thank you very much for your reply, Joe. We have made an investment of £15,000 into our website. It is a very sophisticated system. It isn't really much of a risk to us because I already have many customers locally who have stuck by me for years which equates to around £750k turnover annually. Our website developers have done an awful lot of looking into the internets demand of our products and it is a huge market. I understand that Screwfix is local to everyone, but even they don't guarantee 100% stock. With Screwfix you always tend to have to buy in pack quantity and their prices are very high. With us, we offer features that Screwfix don't, such as a customised service. We also have an ex-Fischer technical staff member starting with us when we launch. I think you are mistaking us for a simple hardware supply company. We are not just that. We are a distribution company and although our target market is mainly the construction industry we also have customers from other industries too - sheet metal etc.

It has been very costly so far I have to admit, but fortunately I have good relationships with my suppliers who have given me instant credit terms and large consignment stock, which has helped us out a lot.

 

[boltex]

Very interesting, noseall. How long have you been working for yourself? I hope your business is doing well. Do you buy off First Fix in York? I used to work for a company called Bralo who are a rivet manufacturer / supplier and used to deal with those. I understand that you usually prefer to buy your goods over the counter, but I presume that with a larger job you would prefer to have your order delivered? It is interesting to hear that you tend to go else where for your Soudal products. Soudal are a very big brand and plenty of my customers really rate them and it is definitely a brand which i will be a distributor of.

Nick

 

[noseall]

Do you buy off First Fix in York? I used to work for a company called Bralo who are a rivet manufacturer / supplier and used to deal with those.

When I said "we tend to deal with mainly first fix", I meant that we don't do a lot of second fix stuff and was nowt to do with a company called 'Fist Fix'.

 

[noseall]

Bulky/heavy materials we have delivered, but i have to say, i do like looking and seeing what i am buying regards a lot of other stuff.

I am very finnicky regards quality and particularly how a product performs. If our local builders merchants decides to swap suppliers and go for a different product then i jump down their necks if i thing the product is in any way less better.

Take a simple thing like wall starters.

One product had nice big washers, independent clips and 6 fixings i.e. 3 for each sleeve or you had one spare if you used the sleeves as a pair.

Another product came along, poxy small washers, stamped metal fold down clips and only five fixings. Utter rot.

 

[joe-90]

Oh I geddit. You are simply advertising your wares on the forum by pretending to be a start-up outfit when in fact you are not.

Won't be long before the mods lock your account for free advertising.

Maybe you should change the name to 'Bollex' it has a nice ring to it eh?

 

[boltex]

noseall, sorry about the misunderstanding haha! Yes, quality is very, very important and I have always swore by quality brands rather than cheap alternatives a lot of our competitors are trying to bring in just to increase their margins. Our brands all have relevant quality certification and comply with the industry standards. From previous experience ive always made sure to send samples to customers to ensure that they are happy with the product.

Joe, I can assure you that we are not an already established company. I am simply coming on here to ask questions and in no way am I using this forum to advertise. If I were, don't you think I would have added details about the company? . anyway Joe, regardless I do really appreciate your original reply.

 

[boltex]

And we cannot forget the new ring you have given my new company �� very clever, Joe

 

[RF Lighting]

Sell actual unistrut, and make a big point of it. So many trade counters and websites etc. are flogging either unbranded or lesser branded channel and accesories as unistrut and it is no where near as good as the genuine stuff.

 

[skotl]

Not sure what to make of this. If you are offering a "customised service" I find it hard to understand how you can do that if you are not in every town.

You say that you "have good relationships with my suppliers who have given me instant credit terms and large consignment stock". I'm pleased for you, and I wish you every success, but money talks; your suppliers are going to give Kingfisher (owners of Screwfix, B&Q, Breco amongst others) better terms than they are going to give you.

You've spent £15,000 on your (e-commerce) website. That's a lot of money for a lot of businesses, but for an e-commerce site I am afraid that it's nothing. Have you seen screwfix's website?

My business does not operate an e-commerce website but a recent re-design of our core site still cost us north of £90k. Once you start considering the complexities of stock management, online ordering, credit checking, payment providers, etc., I would be concerned if I was giving my credit card details to a company that (only) spent 15 grand on their site. This may come over as spiteful, and I don't mean it to, but £15,000 is only 30 days of web-developer time and I wouldn't be basing my entire business plan on 30 web-dev-days.

And guaranteeing 100% stock availability, unless you either have tens of millions to spend on stock, or you have an incredibly limited range, is ridiculous. Screwfix don't promise this and they have far deeper pockets than you do.

I don't work for Kingfisher (aka screwfix or B&Q) but I ultimately agree with joe-90. Don't try to compete with Screwfix. Don't try to be cross-national. If you can genuinely compete on service then concentrate, at least initially, on your local stomping ground.

Having a desire to compete with the big boys (Kingfisher, Jewson, Wickes or Wolseley) without the financial backing is just dumb.

 

[boltex]

On Unistrut items, we will only be distributing the Unistrut brand. I know that all of our competitors are selling cheaper brands, such as CSS for instance, but there is a huge difference on quality.

Also, we will not be trying to compete with Screwfix at all. It would be silly of me to suggest that. We know that we cannot really compete with them in many ways, but what we can do is offer a more personalised service shall we say because we will be a small business. I never said that we will be able to offer 100% stock, that would cost millions yes - however customers will be able to see live stock levels on our website. Most of my existing customers tend to use the same products month by month, so I will be stocking what my customers use. We will be offering stock replinishment systems for our engineering users and we will be offering a far better for money than Screwfix - that's what's guaranteed. The website however is very professional and very sophisticated and itll be an excellent tool for our credit account customers especially. A lot of our customers actually rate our website so far over Screwfix's, Toolstation etc so I definately think that we will be able to compete. Ill send you the draft link over pm when Im on the computer next and you can give me some feedback if you like? I would really appreciate that!

thank you for all these replies people!!