Business Action | Winter 2021
Winter 2021 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue includes a feature on our North Devon Business Awards event 2021 at Moreton House, more winners with their awards certificates, 100 years of Pedlars on Ilfracombe High Street and the opening of the Node enterprise Centre in Barnstaple.
Winter 2021 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue includes a feature on our North Devon Business Awards event 2021 at Moreton House, more winners with their awards certificates, 100 years of Pedlars on Ilfracombe High Street and the opening of the Node enterprise Centre in Barnstaple.
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RETAIL<br />
100 years on t<br />
Nick Pedlarjoinedthebusiness<br />
in1964andhasawealthof<br />
retailknowledge.Weasked<br />
Nickabouttrendsandwhat<br />
remainsimportantinretail.<br />
What from 100 years of<br />
trading is still important for<br />
retailers to do today?<br />
Customerserviceisthemost<br />
important.It’sstillthesame<br />
todayaswhenPedlarsstarted.<br />
A landmark North Devon<br />
storecelebrates100yearsof<br />
tradinginIlfracombeHigh<br />
Streetin2022.<br />
Chas.N.Pedlarfirsttraded<br />
in1922,althoughtheorigins<br />
ofthebusinessstretchbackto<br />
adepartmentstoreand<br />
funeraldirectorsknownas<br />
J.Pugsley&Sonsin1860.This<br />
originalstorewaslocatedin<br />
ForeStreetandthenmovedto<br />
theHighStreetatthepremises<br />
currentlyoccupiedbyMcColls<br />
andthePostOffice.<br />
JohnPugsley’snephew,<br />
Charles Nicholas Pedlar<br />
CharlesNicholasPedlar,joined<br />
thebusinessin1895andthe<br />
adjoiningchinaandhardware<br />
Supporting homeware retailers countrywide<br />
Aswellasservingresidentsof<br />
andvisitorstoIlfracombefor<br />
100years,Pedlarsplaysa<br />
majorroleinsupplying<br />
homewaretothousandsof<br />
customersacrossthecountry<br />
asoneofsixfounding<br />
membersofHomeHardware.<br />
FormedinNorthDevonin<br />
1967,thecompanyisdealer<br />
ownedandnowhasmorethan<br />
400independenthardware<br />
retailers,housewaresshops,<br />
cookshops,ironmongersand<br />
Have you attracted more<br />
customers during COVID?<br />
We’veattractedmore<br />
customers,includinganew<br />
generationofcustomerswho<br />
wereabletophoneupandhave<br />
theirordersdelivered.<br />
Gardeningcustomers<br />
especiallyhavestayedwithus<br />
afterfindingthequalityofour<br />
plantsexceptional.People<br />
remarkedonhowgoodtheyare<br />
andhowcompetitivelypriced.<br />
Olderpeoplealsoreliedon<br />
usinabigway.Thosewhowere<br />
isolatingwereabletophoneus<br />
upandwedeliveredtothem.<br />
Are there families of<br />
customers spanning more<br />
than one generation?<br />
Wehavefamilieswithmore<br />
thanonegenerationshopping<br />
withus,oftenbecauseof<br />
schoolwear.Welookedafter<br />
somewhentheywentto<br />
school,thentheymovedaway<br />
andtheystillcomebacktous<br />
forclothing.<br />
Schoolchildrenoftencome<br />
backtousasadults,especially<br />
whenbuyingclothesforwork<br />
orjobinterviews.<br />
gardencentresasitsmembers<br />
acrosstheUK.<br />
Establishedtosupport<br />
independentretailersafterthe<br />
appearanceofthefirst<br />
supermarkets,itranitsfirst<br />
warehouseinBidefordbefore<br />
movingtoitspresentpremises<br />
inBarnstaple.Togetherwith<br />
itssecondwarehousein<br />
Bedford,HomeHardwarehas<br />
anationwidereach,delivering<br />
toretailersfromtheIslesof<br />
ScillytoNorthumberland.It<br />
How far do customers<br />
come to shop at Pedlars?<br />
Wegetabigflowofcustomers<br />
fromLyntonandLynmouth,<br />
Georgeham,Woolacombeand<br />
Mortehoeandfromacross<br />
NorthDevon.<br />
Wealsogetpeoplephoning<br />
usupfromallacrossthe<br />
countrywhohavevisitedusin<br />
thesummer.<br />
Recently,wehadacustomer<br />
ringusfromShattoninthe<br />
PeakDistrict.<br />
employssome80staffin<br />
Barnstapleand30inBedford.<br />
HomeHardwaremembershipgivesretailersaccessto<br />
20,000productsfrom300<br />
namedbrandsstockedinits<br />
warehouses,withevenmore<br />
availabledirectfromsuppliers.<br />
Moreimportantly,itcanhelp<br />
supportanewretaileras<br />
theyestablishtheirbusiness,<br />
reducingthestart-uprisk.This<br />
includeshelpingwithbusiness<br />
plansandotheradvice.<br />
What do you sell more and<br />
less of now?<br />
Weusedtosellalotofparaffin<br />
forstovesandradiators.<br />
Nowweselllotsofhairdryers.<br />
Televisionhasabiginfluence<br />
onhomewareandcooking.<br />
Peoplerushouttobuygadgets<br />
thatthey’veseenTVchefsuse.<br />
Thereisabigmediainfluence<br />
onwhatsells.<br />
Do you still enjoy retailing?<br />
Iloveit.Therapportwiththe<br />
customersisstillimportant.<br />
HomeHardwarewonthe<br />
Britain’sBestWholesalertitle<br />
intheHousewaresInnovation<br />
Awardsthreeyearsrunningin<br />
2017,2018and2019.<br />
MoreHomeHardware<br />
retailerscanbefoundacross<br />
NorthDevoninBideford,<br />
Bradworthy,Braunton,<br />
Crediton,GreatTorrington,<br />
Okehampton,SouthMolton<br />
andTiverton.<br />
■ Details01271337479or<br />
homehardware.co.uk<br />
10 business action | <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2021</strong> | business-action.co.uk
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