The IPG recently held Trade Local Day to support independent member stores across the country. Joe Dart visited IPG member, H Lilley & Co Ltd, in Kent to find out more.

Trade Local Day is a campaign where members of The IPG all stand proudly together to celebrate their independence. A day where these independent plumbing stores and bathroom showrooms across the UK are at the forefront of tradespeople’s minds. Now in its second year, the event continues to gain momentum.

To find out more about the campaign, I visited IPG member, H Lilley & Co Ltd, a plumbing, heating, bathroom and electrical store based in Biggin Hill, Kent.

H Lilley has been in Biggin Hill since the 1980s, but this is the newest branch in its portfolio. The merchant’s first location was in Eltham, London in 1975, but the company itself was first established in 1960 as an electrical contractor. It’s always been a family-run company, starting with Harry Lilley and now run by Kristjan Lilley.

 
Upon arrival, I found the store fully kitted out in Trade Local Day branding. Bunting and balloons were everywhere, helping to create a fun and vibrant atmosphere for customers, and staff were wearing special Trade Local Day t-shirts for maximum awareness.

Branch Manager Andy Sharp explains why H Lilley got involved this year: “It’s good advertising and a good bit of fun at the same time.”

To help maximise the impact of Trade Local Day, The IPG provided H Lilley with more than just decorations. A range of giveaway items, including reusable coffee cups and first aid kits, were on display for visitors to the store to take advantage of. They all “help to encourage local people to come into the shop,” Andy adds.

Andy has worked at the store for 14 years and says one of the key challenges for the business is replacing the older customers who have retired with fresh blood. Purchasing habits over the years have changed, meaning the business has had to adapt, but “this sort of event helps,” he says.

H Lilley also received the support of one of its suppliers – Navigator – a wholesale distributor of plumbing and heating fittings and a supplier to members of The IPG. Chris Cole, the regional Area Sales Manager at Navigator, was in attendance to help celebrate with the branch on Trade Local Day.

He explains: “It’s something that we would always get involved in because it’s important to support our customers and their customers.”

For Navigator, Trade Local Day presents an excellent opportunity for them to raise awareness about their product range, with some of their products on a demonstration table for customers to try while in store.

But according to Chris, it’s about more than just exposure. He concludes: “Most importantly, it’s about having really good conversations with the guys behind the counter to understand what they’re buying and how we can further support.”

Based on my experience at H Lilley & Co, Trade Local Day is an important campaign that helps to build closer relationships between tradespeople, independent plumbing stores, bathroom showrooms and builders’ merchants and their suppliers.

For more information on Trade Local Day, find the campaign on social media @tradelocalday and visit the website: www.tradelocalday.co.uk.