The decision to diversify one’s product offering is not to be taken lightly. However, in Border Carpets’ case, the choice to open a bed showroom in the Yateley, Hampshire store proved relatively straightforward, reports SMG News …
Peter Spong and his brother opened Border Carpets in a shopping square on the town’s main business link 25 years ago, after the former carpet fitters decided that they could offer a better service than the multiples. “We hoped to establish a reputation of offering customers a consistently superior service,” says Peter, “and, 25 years on, I think we can confidently say we’ve done that!”
When Peter became aware of an adjacent property becoming available at the beginning of the year, he began to ponder what diversification the company could embrace. The synergies between flooring and furnishing led him to look through the furniture section of the SMG Membership Handbook, where he found Christie-Tyler, Millbrook Beds and Hush-a-Bye – the former of which quickly became a key partner for the new bed showroom at Border Carpets.
“We visited Christie-Tyler’s manufacturing base and were blown away,” says Peter. “The support they showed us – a carpet shop who were venturing into beds – was terrific.”
Buying group publication SMG News quizzed Peter on his decision:
Why have you chosen Christie-Tyler as your main supplier?
To be honest, when we contacted Christie-Tyler we were so impressed with their products and manufacturing set-up that no-one else seemed to measure up!
I guess they saw our potential, and we were grateful for that. We were also really encouraged by their policy with online trading, and this gave us the confidence to display in-store. The fact that the brand is so well known to consumers was an added bonus.
How many models do you have on display?
We’ve carefully selected the suppliers we wanted to deal with and have products at entry level all the way up to luxury. We’ve taken the whole Christie-Tyler range, another five beds on display from Hush-a-Bye including a guest bed pull-out, and three luxury models from Millbrook.
Do you think furniture is a growing market?
We certainly think we have a loyal customer base that we can offer a good service to, and offering beds seemed like the right fit. After measuring for carpet and flooring, selling a bed is simple – with direct home delivery as well offered from our suppliers, we don’t even have to touch the product, and it helps us to stay competitive within the market.
What are the most common questions you have from customers?
We usually have a conversation about colour, and basic advice – what product we would recommend. Surprisingly, we don’t have any price-oriented questions – we always try to sell the benefits of the product and not the price.
What is the key market challenge today?
Attracting more people through the door! In the last five years footfall has dropped considerably, although we do seem to have more telephone enquiries. Once we’ve booked customers in for a measure we convert 70-75% into a sale – we lose very few.
What do you feel is the independent retailer’s strength?
Most of our customers come to us for our experience and advice. The personal service and ‘nothing is too much trouble’ attitude is invaluable. When you’re an independent retailer you can’t afford to say “no, we don’t do that”, and if we have the will to make something work we can be entirely flexible to ensure it’s successful.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 issue of SMG News, the official publication of national flooring and furnishing buying group SMG.
