BAGMA Cover: Ron Smith & Co

As part of my ongoing partnership with BAGMA, I visited Ron Smith and Co to interview Mark Smith.

Read the interview here:

Ron Smith & Co has been a wholly owned family business since it was first established in 1967. Set up by the late Ron Smith and his wife, the business became one of the first companies that focussed on the garden machinery industry. They began importing and selling ride-on tractors and quickly evolved, adding chainsaws and mowers to the portfolio. With over 50 years in business, we were keen to hear all about the changes they have encountered and what it takes to keep a business like theirs thriving.

We visited the Worcester branch and spoke with Mark Smith, Ron’s son, who is now the Managing Director of the business.

1.    Tell me a little bit about the business’ history and how you have got to where you are today?

My mum and dad started the business in 1967 right when garden machinery and ride on tractors were in their infancy. Dad was one of the first people to import and sell them in the UK.

We opened the branch in Hereford 30 years ago now but have since had a purpose built branch which is now 5 years old. We have also expanded in Worcester, we took on a new warehouse about 2 years ago because we found we were just running out of space. It has been very difficult in Worcester, there isn’t many premises available in the size that we would require.

All in all there is about 45 of us over 4 sites. We do a lot of business online as well which started almost 25 years ago, originally it began as a mail order company, we have grown tremendously and today we have a thriving internet company. Our website will supply nationwide, there is no limits as to where we can go. In the past we have also supplied internationally but we have since moved away from that as it was causing too much hassle with additional restrictions and paperwork.

2.    With over 50 years in the industry, you must have seen lots of changes, how would you say things differ today for the business?

The nuts and bolts of trading hasn’t really changed, and service hasn’t changed. People still want top quality customer service as well as good information before purchasing. As long as we can provide the answers, whether that is on the phone or in an email, then people want to deal with us. It is all about service. Then the other side is stock. The last two years we have noticed a considerable change in the availability of machines. We have always kept a lot of stock thankfully, which has been good for us over the last two years but yes in general we have noticed that availability is stretched.

Battery powered machines have also become a big part of the business. It has become a focus for the customer, so we have had to make it part of our business, to keep up with the demand. We do well with Husqvarna auto-mowers, over the last 2 years we have probably sold 2,000 machines into the market. With this part of the business we have full-time installers that get these out to customers, I am really proud of the guys that do this, they do a great job. 

With online sales you tend to think they are one time customers, but we can look back at their order history and you see they have been using Ron Smith for years it is just a fact of not seeing their face. We put a lot of emphasis on Trustpilot with our online business, of course you can get some keyboard warriors but most of the time we get good feedback. This ensures everyone is happy and we can monitor our level of service. It may sound great but anyone who thinks going online is the answer, it can be a hard slog and it’s taken us nearly 25 years to get to where it is. But we have 6 full-time people purely on the website which shows what a machine it can be.

Changes this last year has been largely around cost increases, everything across the board seems to have increased tremendously. I do think that the price of machinery has gone up an outrageous amount and we must be careful we don’t end up harming the industry going forward.

3.    Was it always the plan for you to be involved with the business?

No, never. I always said I never wanted to sell lawnmowers and yet here I am!

I completed my A-levels and secured a place on a 5-year management programme with Plumb Centre, so I worked through the programme and then moved on the road with them as a rep. Then I moved on to be a branch manager, the youngest at that time! I worked for them in total about 8 years, in the end the management style wasn’t for me, so I decided to come and work with my dad, I haven’t really looked back since. I do enjoy it, every day is different, although it would be nice to have some more relax time but at the moment I don’t seem to get much of that!

4.    It really is a family occasion; is this an ethos you carry out when managing your staff?

Yes, we have some great people working for us and they have done for a long time! We try to ensure everyone is happy and I am aware it has been incredibly busy the last few years, everyone needs downtime too.

5.    How many staff do you currently have?

We operate with 45 staff currently, over 4 separate sites. We are always looking for great people to join our team! We have a good age range of people working for us, but it would always be great to get some new, young blood in. This last two years has been relentless which is great, but ideally, I need 5 more people to join us because ultimately it is hindering our expansion.

6.    How have you found staffing in general?

Getting good, reliable service-related staff has always been hard. But it isn’t just within the service department that I have struggled. I have found getting people to do any type of work recently is a task within itself. With more and more government perks, I am finding a lot of people think they are better off at home, I have also had staff ask if they can go part-time. They wouldn’t be asking that unless there was a perk to it! It makes the running of the business difficult. I think the whole of the country is in a sticky situation following the pandemic.

I also believe that we need to be pushing the benefits of apprenticeships and technical college qualifications over university degrees because this allows younger people to come into the industry and work while they learn. We don’t currently have any apprentices; we have had some great success with them in the past, but it is getting decent people who are willing to work and learn. We really don’t seem to be getting the quality and sometimes I wonder if it is something we are doing. The ethos has changed and there isn’t that drive to get out and earn a living anymore.  We need to have good people around us in order to move forward so we need to do something.

7.    Where do you operate specifically?

With our online business there is really no limit. In the branch we do have a little more of a limit on where we can sell to. It tends to be within a 100-mile radius but I would say our core business is within 50 miles of the branch. We have customers all over the place and we do find we get customers that want to stick with us despite having a more local dealer. I suppose it is a compliment!

8.    What area of the business do you enjoy the most?

I like the selling; I am a salesman at the end of the day, I love being in front of the customer. I am now the Managing Director, so I tend to be dealing with a lot more business tasks rather than being on the showroom floor with the customers, which I do miss.

I also like the camaraderie between other dealers that are a similar size to myself, it is great because we look after each other!

9.    Is there anything you do not enjoy?

I really do not enjoy recruitment! I hate it. Recruitment agencies and the hassle of the whole process.

10. Do you have a loyal customer base?

We have generation after generation of customers, and we are very lucky that they are loyal.

11. You have a very active digital presence and a very comprehensive website; would you say this has become an increasingly important part of the business and how do you compete with larger internet companies?

Absolutely! Even more so over the last 2 years. This part of the business is growing rapidly, and it takes a lot of work. I think when it comes to setting ourselves apart, it is all about the level of equipment and the service we offer. We don’t just sell machines online and that’s it, our team are on hand to help the customer. These larger companies cannot supply the higher end equipment, they specialise in more entry level, and I don’t think their service and support is where is should be. That’s where we are unique, we are specialists.

12. What would you say the split between online sales and in-person sales is?

Well over 50% of our sales is now online and it is growing all the time. We find that a lot of local people buy online purely for convenience.

13. What are the plans for the future?

We are looking to consolidate in one big premises ideally. That’s my goal, it just depends on a lot of factors, the property market is not where I would like to be to consider that sort of move at the moment. We know we are growing and that is great but being in one location would save us a lot of time and effort.

We are actively looking for someone to be on the road selling as well. This is something that we know we need to do and again, it will move our business forward.

There are plenty of factors overall that need to be looked at for us to keep moving forward, both as a business and an industry. We really need to be talking more with the manufacturers about warranty and rates they are paying the dealers. It isn’t all of them but currently we seem to be subsidising them. How long can we withstand it, is the question? I have spoken with other dealers about putting together a totally independent dealer council to try and bring these subjects to the manufacturer’s agenda. I think together we could be a positive force for the industry to ensure we are not left out of pocket constantly.

14. How did COVID effect the business and how have you adapted going forward?

Last year the only way we could keep going properly was our online business. We didn’t close during COVID, we stayed open and operating the best that we could. Obviously, we didn’t have people visiting the showroom which will have impacted our sales but we were still delivering either through carriers or our own vans. Being in different locations meant that we could bubble safely. It was a very tricky time for all businesses. I also believe that those companies that did close their doors forced their customers to deal with competitors like ourselves. Everyone these days is so instantaneous that if we had it, they wanted it next day, our business did well out of it!  

We have all had enough of COVID haven’t we? Everyone just wants to get on with our lives. But, for the business, it has been great, we broke all our company records last year and things seem to be marching on forwards still, which is great!

We noticed that with people spending more time at home, they wanted to do things in the garden, or in their houses, they had the spare time and the cash. It was certainly a positive for us!

Unfortunately, one thing that was frustrating was that our staff couldn’t take part with manufacturer training, which was a shame, it would have been great if they could have done some of the courses online.

15. How have you found being a BAGMA member?

We have been a member for a long time. All in all, it is a great industry body. We are looking at using the legal advice going forward, and in general there are some great offerings, we should be using them more regularly. I have spoken with Keith at BAGMA about setting up this dealer council and he has been very supportive about bringing this together. Whatever size dealer we are, we all have the same problems, so it is important to stick together.

16. What do you like to get up to in your spare time?

I don’t have any! I would love to put my feet up and just relax. I did used to be a member of the local golf club but haven’t played in a long time. A holiday would be lovely!