EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION, KEY FOR EGAN REID

Long-established dealer EGAN REID has been a name in the sector for more than 45 years, and that’s down to a willingness to continually evolve the business

gan Reid has come a long way E since the business was started by Jack Reid and Jim Egan in 1957 as a letterpress printing business; it has proved that a business must continually evolve if it is to remain successful.

Perhaps the first example of this is when the company got out of the printing business in 1976 – around the time the print unions were very militant – and bought two new businesses; an office supplies company in Stockport called Office Supplies Manufacturing, and an office furniture company, B&H Commercial.

This was the beginning of Egan Reid in its current form – 2021 managing director Martin Reid joined the business as a fresh-faced 18-year-old the year after.

The company grew quite quickly to 25 members of staff and, by 1990, needed to relocate to somewhere bigger; they moved into the purpose-built premises in Stockport where the company is still based.

“This move was a big step. It allowed us to grow, as the previous building was far too small for us,” says Martin.

But the business’s growth hasn’t just been organic; over the past 15 years, Egan Reid has regularly acquired businesses, including Lincoln-based Todds Group in 2019, which expanded the company into the office fitout sector; Martin says the company is now much more than just an office supplies and furniture business; it caters for the entire building.

This willingness to expand into new markets, either by acquisition or organically, ensured that, when the pandemic hit last year, Egan Reid was able to weather the storm.

RISING TO THE CHALLENGE “The past 18 months have been very challenging,” he says. He’s not exaggerating. In April 2020, sales were down 53% year-on-year. May was even worse – 73% down on the 2019 figures. “We had to do something about that,” he says. “So we entered new markets, including selling more than £1 million of PPE.”

He adds that Egan Reid’s in-house marketing team also played their part here. “That’s how we did so well with PPE – we created some literature very quickly.” This was sent out to customers, who, at the time, were desperate for masks, sanitiser and the like.

Martin adds that the company also made use of the government furlough scheme. “We found the system advantageous and, at one stage, had 50 people on furlough. Now we have only one, which shows how things have turned around, and we have got things going in the right direction.”

He adds that a positive aspect of the pandemic was seeing his staff rise to the challenge; many of them have been with the company for several decades. “I have seen some of my staff rise way above expectations,” he says. “People have become allrounders. There have been people staying late at night answering the ‘phone, and delivering next day. For a football analogy, think of Paul Madeley [Leeds United and England utility player during the 1970s] – play him anywhere, and he’ll do a job.”

As lockdown measures lift, Egan Reid’s sales are improving once again. April 2021’s figures were 70% up on last year, for instance, although Martin acknowledges that the next year will still be difficult in many ways.

You have to be different, and have to have that unique selling point

“The way we work will change, long-term, and more people will work from home. Likewise, more people are ordering off the internet, which has allowed companies like Amazon to get stronger.”

ONLINE EMPHASIS These factors mean that, once again, Egan Reid will have to evolve how the business works, connecting directly with customers at home, and also with a greater emphasis on online sales. However, the company will continue to hold stock. “We have stock worth more than £500,000 across our three sites,” he says. “Carrying stock is important to us, especially with the demise of Spicers, as the level of service has declined since.”

Nevertheless, he is positive about the future for Egan Reid, with an attitude of “If you need it, we can supply it” and plans to open up supply chains in more new markets, hoping to replicate the success of the PPE lines from last year.

Again, it goes back to constant evolution. “If you have a winning formula, it goes so far, so you have to keep refining it and changing it,” he says. “You have to be different, and have to have that unique selling point. We just want to be unique, and sell something different, as a lot of the market is the same.”

For instance, acquiring Todds has helped the company into new markets. “We supplied all the office furnishings but now we are getting involved in fit-out as well. We are doing mezzanine floors, partitioning, air-conditioning, lighting, plumbing - this has added another string to our bow and, with our large database, we can exploit this. It is working well.”

With the third generation of the Reid family, Charlie, making his way in the business, Martin is confident that the company has a sound grounding, and will be around for many years to come.

Click here to hear more from Martin in the latest tuned in podcast, hosted by Steve Harrop