5 minute read
BRIDGES TO SUCCESS
What started as an idea at the beginning of the first lockdown turned into a huge success for OFFICE BRIDGE SOLUTIONS - which is now helping to drive the company’s growth
or Mike Astbury the F beginning of the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 was, in common with the rest of the sector, a time of enormous uncertainty – but a chance recommendation from a customer turned into a spectacular money-spinner that has helped his business, Office Bridge Solutions, to not just survive, but expand.
“When COVID started, we thought ‘What are we going to do?’ as our core businesses are hospitality and education and they both shut,” Mike remembers. “Nobody could get hold of any PPE or sanitiser so we decided to venture into that market. We teamed up with a few suppliers from outside of the industry off the back of our customer base. A customer put us in touch with one of their providers and said, ‘We think there is some work you two could do together.’”
The customer was – as always – right. Mike had an idea for a large, no-touch, sanitiser dispensing system, and he explained this to the supplier during what was envisaged as an introductory call one Thursday afternoon. That night, he received a drawing of what the dispenser would look like, followed by a prototype that arrived at his office the following Monday.
“In the space of a few days we went from nothing to a sanitiser station with a pump dispensing system made from a powder coated steel and the opportunity for customers to brand the stations for themselves. We sold thousands of them, and many people are still renting them.”
Mike’s idea was to rent the sanitiser stations out, much like water coolers are. “We decided to do this in the hope that they would sit in the corner of the room after the pandemic and people would continue to pay the £9.99 per month for them – and the majority do. These stations have been out there for approaching two years, generating income.”
The sanitiser stations, along with PPE, sold so well that 2020 was the best year ever in terms of revenue for Office Bridge in 16 years of trading; this revenue was reinvested into Office Bridge’s new larger premises in Runcorn.
Since then, the PPE, along with the sanjan and catering supplies part of the business, has been hived off into a separate, stand-alone, company, TSS Hygiene. This decision was taken to ensure the company could specialise in that field and give Office Bridge the scope to concentrate on its other markets, which include print, furniture, workwear and education.
“Everybody has to diversify within our industry, or you are not going to last,” says Mike, “but we have added so many categories in the past two-three years, we’ve got enough for now. We must think about our customer base; this is why we separated TSS Hygiene from Office Bridge, because I felt we were becoming a jack of all trades and master of none.
Diversifying is important, and you
One of Office Bridge’s sanitiser stations operational in a hotel
must keep doing it, but there are enough opportunities for us in the categories we’ve got to expand and grow - when we’ve reached the limits of those, we can then bring in more categories.”
RETAIL SHOWROOM
One market that is growing for Office Bridge is education - indeed, it was the main reason why Office Bridge’s new premises contain a retail showroom because the business supplies uniforms to many local schools, as well as providing office and educational supplies.
“We deal with hundreds of parents with each school. They need a place to collect uniforms and they like to have a look at, and feel of, the garments. It’s also useful to invite people to the showroom to see the workwear products up close, and they often order after that.”
Much work in these markets comes through word-of-mouth, Mike explains; this is where Office Bridge’s philosophy of being honest and transparent pays dividends. “Our business is built on honesty,” he says. “Every member of staff has to be focused on that as you have to get the customer to trust you. You do that by reacting quickly and honestly – if there is something you can’t fulfil or do, then tell the customer. It isn’t the end of the world, and they will understand. You have to tackle problems head-on.”
ACQUISITIONS
Office Bridge is also expanding through acquisition, having snapped up Grace Office Supplies in July 2021, which is based in Blyth, Northumberland. “We have always wanted to acquire businesses as and when they became available,” explains Mike. “We have known the owner of Grace Office Supplies for many years, and always had a good relationship with him. We said, ‘When you are looking to sell, get in touch,’ and he did.
Following the deal, David, the former owner of Grace Office Supplies, is continuing to work for the company. Indeed, superficially, little has changed since the deal. “We haven’t rebranded; we kept the name as customers are familiar with that – they deal with Grace Office, not Office Bridge, and their relationship is with David,” Mike says. “It is about David growing the team now; initially it was just him, but we have employed another two people in the past six months.
“The idea is to replicate what we do here in the northeast. He does office supplies and workwear, but he didn’t do print. We have in-house graphic designers where we do the print and design side. He doesn’t do medical supplies or janitorial and catering, so there are additional categories he can now tap into. We have already sourced suppliers and we’re finding a formula that works in terms of pricing and marketing. He needs to replicate it with his customer base and new customers.”
Mike adds that Office Bridge is hoping to complete more similar deals in the medium-term. “We are looking at small, typically one- or two-man man operations. A lot of people are coming up to retirement age and looking for an exit strategy so, hopefully, we can do something with them.”
