‘Sometimes it’s a blessing to have a long history and other times it’s a pain,’ said Nick Brewer, one of the co-directors of south London merchant T Brewer & Co.
For the younger customer, he explained, Brewer’s 112-year history could potentially be a turn-off. ‘They see old as traditional and out of date. The trick is to try to retain the perception of solidity and continuity and, at the same time, show a modern outlook in everything we do.’
This, in a nutshell, has been the strategy of Mr Brewer and partners Keith Fryer and Rodney Scoles over the past eight years as they rebuilt Brewer’s into a ‘strong, independent importer and merchant supplying the London market’.
The team acknowledge that Brewer’s had been through a difficult period before they took over. The old firm had become part of Malden Timber‘s operation and undergone considerable change and upheaval – and not all the developments had been positive. But in 1992 Messrs Brewer and Scoles, together with another partner who has since left, decided they could do something with the former Brewer’s yard in Clapham – which was just half a mile from the business’ original site – plus a second Malden outlet at Hither Green in south-east London. Both men had a timber background, as had Keith Fryer who joined a year later, and they knew what they wanted to do with the operation. Although, as Rodney Scoles admits, those early days were still a ‘very testing time’.
‘The transition from being employees to owners was a big change. There were many moments when we could have stumbled, but somehow we got through. The key was strict cash, stock, accounting and credit control. You need them before anything else,’ he said.
‘We have definitely had our moments,’ Keith Fryer agreed. ‘Like so many timber companies, at one stage we fell into the trap of chasing sales instead of profit and were becoming busy fools. Just over three years ago, we made a huge change in our trading style. We cut costs in many areas, with a lot of pain at the time, while shutting accounts and turning down business that wasn’t central to our new plan. Since then, we haven’t really looked back and we and the staff are now reaping the benefits.’
The company’s Hither Green site had originally traded as Bexley Timber & Mouldings and had a long tradition of supplying machined hardwood sections to the double glazing sector and other markets. But, as Nick Brewer explained, it had not really moved with the times.
‘By the time of the buyout, PVCu had virtually taken over from aluminium windows, so the hardwood subframe and ancillary sections were not required in anything like the volumes that used to be sold. This left us with the task of transforming Hither Green into a compact branch, with a heavy emphasis on servicing the small builder or contractor, with a large amount of collection business. This was a big change for a young business, but by slowly reducing our hardwood sections, while increasing the general range of timber products, we managed to move the site over to its current trading style.’
Nick Smith joined the fast developing business in 1999, after a time running Peckham Timber (a local competitor bought out by Travis Perkins) and, driven by his wealth of local and product knowledge, Hither Green has blossomed.
‘The business is now very focused on supplying timber-based products and joinery to customers in London, with the Clapham site concentrating on the very centre and Hither Green servicing local companies,’ said Nick. ‘We are now totally clear about who our customers are – they’re trade only. We’ve got a sign in the Clapham yard making this crystal clear. It’s a strong statement, but it means that our customers know that we’re here for them, for the long term. We’re not looking for a fast buck out of some retail business, leaving the trades people to wait.’
Another lynchpin to development, said Rodney Scoles, is the commitment to quality. ‘We’ve built this up by raising the grade on all softwoods, with unsorted or fifth boards on most sections and C16/24 graded, kiln-dried, regularised, treated carcassing – we only keep untreated 47×50, 75 and 100 in stock. Everything else is treated.’
In its modern milling facility, T Brewer believes it has a huge advantage over many competitors. ‘We continually invest in equipment, with a new spindle and wall panel saw just installed,’ said Keith Fryer. ‘All the main machinery has been replaced in the past five years and we even have a vacuum priming machine on site, so we can offer every part of the package. Our lorry fleet includes four crane offloaders and two smaller wagons for tricky deliveries. Nearly all of them are under five years old, so they’re reliable.’
In London, generally, employee turnover is high and recruitment tough, so it’s a measure of Brewer’s success and staff relations that many of its workforce have been with the company a long time.
‘We’ve built up volume-related incentive schemes for many of our staff so that they can be rewarded for genuine achievement,’ said Rodney Scoles. ‘If the work’s not there, or our service is slow, there’s less to pay out, but we seem to have a balance that is giving staff a real benefit, while controlling costs.’
While the staff are the backbone of the firm, fast distribution is also down to its integrated systems. Brewer’s uses computer generated paperwork from enquiry stage (autofaxed quotes are transmitted direct), through to invoicing and statements, with extensive use of internet and e-mail links.
‘Today you have to present a very clear picture of what you can offer, so we’re also about to launch a much more detailed catalogue,’ said Nick Brewer. ‘Customers rely on us for next day delivery. If they order before 3pm by phone, fax, e-mail, or via the web, we guarantee next-day delivery in London, with morning or afternoon times agreed, so our systems have to be slick and depth of stock has to be maintained.’
He added that, to keep up with the pace of change in the market, Brewer’s is now upgrading its computer and telecoms systems at a cost of £50,000.
The company holds large stocks of timber, including a wide range of hardwoods and sawn joinery, sheets, doors, ironmongery and fixings to ensure that next day delivery is a reality.
‘We purchase many products, particularly softwoods, three months ahead and hold large volumes on the quay at Rochester so the relationship with shippers and carriers is a critical component of the supply chain.’
‘The traditional side of this business is still in place, but we have a young team in all areas and some fairly progressive ideas too,’ concluded Keith Fryer. ‘Hopefully we’ve now got the mix that suits most of our customers. Time will tell!’