49 Q3 2021 BUILD fter opening in Liverpool in April, Selco Builders Warehouse now has 70 branches to serve professional tradespeople across the UK, with each stocking over 15,000 trade products. Selco has built a reputation as one of the foremost suppliers of building products and materials in the country. It takes great pride in its ability to stock a wide range and to offer products and materials at trade prices, ensuring - in turn - its customers can keep prices low for their own clients. At the heart of Selco’s core business model is a commitment towards the provision of stock when and where it is needed. It achieves this with a seven-day trading week and long opening hours that its customers can take full advantage of, while a rapid growth strategy has seen the number of branches double since 2014. At the same time, Selco has funnelled significant investments into its technology and digitisation over the past few years to adapt its offering to meet the changing shopping habits of tradespeople. A new website has been developed and Click & Collect and Click & Deliver services brought into operation. Above all else, Selco operates on a ‘customer first’ basis. Crucially, this means that every decision is made with a view to making life easier and more convenient for its customers, from the way its store is laid out to the way its staff always go above and beyond to deliver outstanding customer service. It is that dedication that has led to success in a number of recent awards, including the National Builders Merchant of the Year (51+ branches) accolade at the BMN Awards in May. With the business model designed to serve tradespeople and businesses, Selco requires customers to shop with a trade card which are available either through the website or in branch. Selco is used by tradespeople in businesses of all scales and sizes, from one-man bands to bigger trade professional businesses. Its most prevalent type of customer is the whitevan worker and jobbing builders carrying out repairs and maintenance in people’s homes. Its wide-ranging customer base can primarily be traced back to its extensive marketing strategy and outreach programme. Critically, it is a well-known name to radio listeners through advertising on stations such as talkSPORT, as well as other national and local radio, and Selco also drives awareness through e-mail campaigns, PR drives, social media activity and other more targeted marketing outreach. Furthermore, it has an extensive sponsorship portfolio to ensure its target audience is reached through the sporting arena. Selco is currently a partner of the Professional Darts Corporation and of the Rugby League World Cup, which will be staged in the UK in 2022 following a one-year delay due to coronavirus. A Through these sponsorships, Selco brings in yet more customers that quickly find its dedication to having everything under one roof is more than just a catchy slogan. It really does attempt to stock everything. For any job that a tradesperson might find themselves faced with, Selco Builders Warehouse is sure that it has the products or materials that can make the job easier and more effective, allowing customers to choose from a variety of different brands, all of which are high quality and well-priced. Moreover, its team is the driving force behind making this happen, with over 3,000 colleagues in its branches and Support Centre, each one of them being an asset to the business. Selco supports their professional development in whichever way it can. Colleagues are kept up to date on all business developments through its regularly circulated internal magazine and its special, social-media style platform called Yoobic Boost, an employee-only forum that encourages communication and engagement. This has created a strong attitude of mutual encouragement and support that has interwoven itself throughout all departments. Colleague retention is also at an all-time high due to its recent focus on looking inward to make itself an even better place to work than ever. During Covid-19, Selco Builders Warehouse put its colleagues’ and customers’ health and safety above all else, closing for a six-week period in March 2020 in order to implement all necessary safety protocols and procedures. Selco also allows its colleagues to continue upskilling and training themselves to continue their own professional careers, something made clear in the Selco Rising Stars initiative that offers every colleague in the business the chance to move up a rung in responsibility. Furthermore, between the safety measures it implemented, its in-depth and responsible response to Covid-19 and its hard work to mitigate the impact of stock shortages that are impacting the trade industry across the board at present, its customers laud Selco as exemplary for its continued tenacity and dedication during a trying time. Moving forward, Selco is committed to continuing to push towards further success. As the challenges of 2020 are hopefully becoming a distant memory, it is looking forward to extending its branch network, stepping up its own sustainability strategy with initiatives including installing LED lighting in branches, using alternative fuel vehicles in its fleets, community and charity support and planting thousands of trees in Selco Forests. Selco truly is one to watch in the coming years.
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