PHAM NEWS | OCTOBER 2021
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Company Spotlight
Responding to what the market wants For over 45 years, BES has provided trade professionals with a speedy delivery service for a wide range of key products and components, but how has the company responded to a challenging trading environment? PHAM News talks to MD Sarah Ryan to catch up with recent developments. The last 18 months have been a difficult time for many businesses, but how has BES coped with the challenges of operating during the pandemic? SR: Sales initially plummeted, but within a couple of weeks we saw sales not only bounce back but increase dramatically. Having developed a new website pre-Covid, it helped us with the increasing online sales. Demand for products for the DIY market, garden maintenance and general home maintenance just went through the roof! Not surprisingly, brassware and hygiene related products did very well too. As we already had a great relationship with our carrier partners we were in a good position to continue to service customers, and we quickly ramped up our stocks so that we could cope with any potential supply issues. For a brief period we had to
change our delivery service from next-day to two-days delivery, but our customers were very understanding during this period and our usual next-day delivery service resumed quite quickly. So is it fair to say that the increase in demand was mainly due to online sales? SR: Yes, the majority of the additional business came via website sales, which I would say now accounts for around 65% of our business. There were certain points during Covid where it was nearer 70%, because there was so much business coming in from consumers. The warehouse manager also had challenges. With the increased stockholding we needed to rapidly increase the pick and bulk locations. More staff were required in all areas and over a relatively short period of time, racking went up, packing benches were installed and we introduced a weekend shift to
keep up with the demand, all whilst complying fully with Government Covid guidelines to ensure our staff remained safe. Despite the challenges, would you say that the business has broadly benefitted from the whole Covid situation? SR: Yes, I hate to say it, but there’s no denying it. We’ve enjoyed a big jump in sales and we’re still growing. The last financial year has been tough, but probably one of the most rewarding since my appointment as MD. All of the BES team have really shone throughout this difficult period. Are current product inflation pressures a cause of concern? SR: I think everybody has concerns at the moment – it’s a very tricky time. The market place in general is very unstable. The copper prices have plateaued a little bit, which certainly helps, and exchange rates are also reasonably stable at the moment, but as soon as we over come one challenge another appears. Continuity of supply is our main challenge at the moment. Has the increase in consumer sales changed the nature of the business? SR: We have been attracting more non-trade customers, but my feeling is that it will be fairly short lived. Plumbers, gas fitters and heating engineers remain our most important customers – they represent close to 80% of our business. With growing interest in renewable technologies and low carbon solutions, are there any plans to expand the product range? SR: At the moment we haven’t got any immediate plans to change our core products. We’re not going to pre-empt anything, we’re waiting for the market to move and for more definite plans t The BES warehouse stocks over 15,000 products, all available for next day delivery
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from the government. We’ll move with the market, rather than before the market. Whatever happens, we will evolve and diversify to reflect what the market wants and needs. Ultimately, we are suppliers to the heating trade – whatever the type of heating. We have introduced quite a lot of new products over the last 12 months, but the total number of products in the catalogue hasn’t changed dramatically. There’s a lot of product turnover, particularly in the heating controls and test equipment market. In January this year we introduced our own range of domestic and catering gas cooker hoses and sockets, which have been doing extremely well. (see panel below). Have you got plans to introduce any more own-brand products in the future? SR: Yes, it’s something that we’re looking at. We’ve already got the Cura brand which we introduced many years ago, which includes many consumable products and more recently a range of filters which have proved to be very popular. We have also introduced a new range of pressfit fittings which have also proved to be very popular. Many customers still prefer a branded product, so these will run alongside the Pegler Xpress range, but other customers will buy on price so for this and many other ranges we try to give a more competitively priced option. With the increase in online sales, are there any thoughts about reducing the print run of the catalogue? SR: That’s not on our agenda, because demand for the catalogue is as high as it ever was. We print about 120,000 copies, which has been fairly consistent in recent years. People like to flick through the relevant sections to find the products they need. We still get at least a thousand requests for a catalogue each month. The catalogue and website are
equally important. To complement the line drawings in our catalogue, the website provides photographic images of all the products. We’ve also started to introduce videos and specification sheets to give the customer as much information as possible to aid the buying process. I’m sure the website will continue to evolve in the years to come. One thing we recently improved is the account set up, which was too long winded. You can now very quickly and easily place your first order without being required to provide too much information from the beginning. So are you optimistic about the prospects for future growth? SR: Very much so. I want to grow the BES brand. Awareness of the BES brand has improved a great deal over the last few years as we have increased our digital marketing reach by using different tools within social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We have a very loyal customer base, but I also think it’s important that, in addition to servicing our current customers, we reach out to a different, younger audience.
GASM8 RANGE The result of extensive research and development, the new GASM8 range of domestic and catering gas cooker hoses and sockets boasts a higher specification for products which are safety critical. Many of the products are tested, approved, and certified by BSI in accordance with industry recognised British and European standards. Also we have introduced the GASM8 Hob-Pro, designed to connect built-in gas hobs with greater efficiency and less joints compared to traditional soldered copper tube and fittings installations. Manufactured in accordance with BS EN 15266, it is available in 500, 750 and 1000 mm lengths. ◼ phamnews.co.uk/1021/11
01/10/2021 14:58
