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Visit by Brian Hall, Editor
Owners Mike and Davis are owner-partners in Lakedale as well as owning another tool company - Croydon Power Tool Centre, and have recently taken over Melayway Tools & Fixing.
The company sells every kind of tool that its customers will need, and its list of stocked brands is a demonstration of the quality and range that it offers, amongst the names on its shelves and website are; Hitatchi, De Walt, Festool - shop in shop, Belle, Makita, Stihl, Trend, Paslode, Bosch, Honda and Panasonic.
As you might expect the product range Lakedale offers doesn’t end there.
Mike told Toolbusiness+Hire: “If any customer has a specific requirement the company will make every effort to buy it in if it doesn’t have the item in stock. Accessories are quite a major part of the business, Mike points out, they are important to ensure that the tool can do the job as well as making a significant contribution to essential earnings.”
The company have been strong Hitachi dealers from day one, the new styling of these products has helped reinforce their sales profile, Mike notes.
They may even have to think of changing the company name as in addition to its traditional product ranges it now also offers a complete site service including catering equipment, personal health and safety etc. However power tools still remain the flagship, along with hire.
The company covers an area well beyond its South London home, taking the whole of the southern home counties as a core customer base. Customers for its tools often work well beyond London, while others come from outside the area to work.
It is not surprising that having built a good reputation, and with decades of experience Lakedale have an account customer base of about 600 with a database of cash customers of about 5000.
Sales are not just in store, the company has an impressive and extensive website which provides users with the ability to purchase a wide selection of Lakedales stock online.
Beyond the company’s base four delivery vehicles are kept busy, while two sales reps also work hard taking orders and making contacts.
About twenty staff are employed in the business, and the company enjoys a great deal of staff loyalty, with employees taking great pride in playing part in Lakedale’s success.
John Pruden, the general manager has been with the company 20 years, while Derek Moore, Hire Shop Manager, has been with the company 19 years and Jan Lazarus, accountant , has been with the company a similar length of time.
The three floors of the Lakedale building provide 10,000 square feet of space. The top floor is the busy accounts and office area, while the ground floor is showroom and sales office and main store.
On the Lower ground floor is the hire shop, the company has done hire service since day one, and the hire section was consolidated in the present building 10 years ago.
“We can compete with catalogue companies,” says Mike. He also points out the importance of the store: “A high visibility, well stocked, store provides customers with a strong message that the product is indeed available locally.”
The brothers’ other business, Croydon Power Tool Centre, is a separate Ltd company and is a wholesale business operating from an industrial warehouse.
The running of the two main parts of their business is essentially split between the two, with Davis mostly running Croydon Power Tool Centre and Mike doing the same at Lakedale.
The company continues to grow, having taken on Melayway and moved Croydon Power Tool Centre into new premises, which it recently acquired - including offices, new showroom and warehouse, giving just under 10,000 sq ft. Mike describes what the company has done to the Croydon premises as almost a complete rebuild. It is probably the biggest step they have taken since the company originally took over Croydon power tools in December 1991. Croydon has the same product profile, while concentrating on wholesale to the hire industry.
As with so many successful tool outlets there is another factor in the success story. The company Joined THS 5 years ago, which has helped it to meet its commitment to supplying customers with anything. THS opened the door to hundreds of new companies, widening the range available even further.
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Airstream Communications