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JANUARY 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
SafeChoice
offering
unbelievable
installer
support
SafeChoice has supported one of its
largest partners Leekes, one of the UK’s
leading independent retailers, in setting
up an impressive new showroom at its
flagship Coventry store to showcase
a wide range of quality PVCu window
and composite door products.
The SafeChoice Partnership proposition is the
exclusive, retail window, door and conservatory support solution
from MASCO UK Fabrication.
Having had a long-standing
supplier relationship with
MASCO UK Window Group
Ltd., for more than 15 years,
becoming a SafeChoice
Partner was a logical move
for the family-owned home
retailer, which is already
starting to bring results.
“We took down a £55,000
orangery, which was the
showpiece as you entered
the showroom, and to
boost our window business, replaced it with the
SafeChoice display with all
the window samples and
marketing material,” said
Leekes Group Sales Manager
Frankie Richardson.
The 180,000 sq ft Coventry
store near the city’s Ricoh
Arena opened in September
2012 with the showroom
fully completed two years
later. Founded 118 years
ago, Leekes sells a vast
range of home products and
is currently run by its fourth
generation family owners,
Chairman Gerald Leeke
and his daughter, Retail MD
Emma Leeke.
Frankie cited the MASCO Group’s approach to
innovation and developing
‘a more creative display which
people can interact with’
new products which help
to stimulate the market as
key reasons to become a
SafeChoice Partner. “Differentiating ourselves is crucial.
There’s a lot of competition
out there and having a team
on board that is ready to
support you with the marketing is a real bonus. We
have had full support with
the design, layout and Point
of Sale material.
“The SafeChoice team has
worked very hard to make
it perfect for us; that’s part
of the partnership, which is
great. They supply all our
bespoke brochures, samples and signage to create
real impact for customers.
There’s a lot more to PVC
than just plastic and glass!”
Several dozen leads were
generated within a few
weeks of opening through
SafeChoice’s ‘Toolbox’, a
Lead Management System
aimed at helping its Partners to manage and respond
to consumer enquiries more
quickly and effectively.
“Although still new for
us, the Toolbox is generating leads already, so it’s all
positive,” continued Frankie.
“It is a numbers game with
double-glazing and the
more leads it generates then
sales will follow. The more
we can put into the mix, the
better the outcome.”
Customer feedback has
been very encouraging and
the window ‘spinners’ –
cutaway sections of PVC-U
windows that can be handled and examined closely
– have proved a hit with the
public, according to Frankie.
“They love those. It’s a novel concept that very easily
explains the different types
of windows to the purchaser as they can see just what
goes into a window and
why one costs more than
another, such as triple glazing for example.
“They’re getting some
good feedback and our
sales people like them
too. It’s easier for them to
demonstrate the products
and explain their construction. For us, this is
an important part of the
SafeChoice offering. It’s a
powerful display with very
powerful messages which is
why we’re putting it in our
different stores.”
Samples are also fully
labelled up with product
information so they act as
‘silent salesmen’, reinforcing the words of the store’s
lead-takers. There’s also a
comprehensive selection of
GRP composite doors from
Phoenix Doors, a MASCO
UK Window Group company, featuring examples from
both its County and Continental Collection ranges.
Nathan Court, SafeChoice
UK Brand Manager commented: “Significant
investment has gone into
developing and building our
consumer-facing brand that
provides our nationwide
Partners with a genuine
competitive edge in the
marketplace. Leekes is our
first major showroom project and we’re delighted that
such a reputable retailer
with a long and successful
history endorses our brand
and is working with us going forward.”
Frankie concluded: “You’ve
got to be one step ahead of
the game. Having a show
room is great, but having a
showroom which is interactive and different to every
other window showroom
in the UK for us is special.
So I’ve got no doubt in
my mind that it will create
leads; we wouldn’t have
taken down that expensive
orangery and replaced it
with this display if we didn’t
think it would work. So
yes, for us innovation and
a little bit of ‘speculate to
accumulate’ is the idea, but
no doubt it will generate
business.
“It’s difficult to forecast,
but if we can increase our
business here by 10% on
last year’s figures in the next
12 months through having a
more creative display which
people can interact with,
then that would be great. It
makes it all worthwhile.”
SafeChoice provides
installers and retailers with
practical tools and support
that can add real value to
their businesses and help
them stand apart from the
rest. The SafeChoice offering includes an on-line price
engine and customer CRM
system for lead management.
For more information
or to register your
interest, visit www.
safechoicepartnership.
co.uk or call 01684
852684.