Posted in Minoli
22nd October 2021
Investing in the fundamentals for future growth
As we seemingly start to emerge from nearly two years of unprecedented disruption, the team at Minoli have been reflecting on the resilience of the business, their ongoing investment strategy, the importance of a customer-first ethic and the loyalty of their long-term client base.
Whilst predictions for year-on-year growth for the housebuilding sector remain buoyant for 2021 and ’22, sustained improvements are by no means a certainty.
Industry authorities such as RICS, the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and the Construction Products Association report strong housing demand, continued house price inflation and a significant rise in house-build starts, despite the end of the stamp duty holiday and changes in the help to buy scheme.
Leading housebuilders are however also warning that the challenges they’re facing now could soon have consequences on a wider economic recovery. A steep rise in the cost of building materials, lorry driver and labour shortages, bottlenecks in global shipping and constricted supply chains are causing some smaller building firms to put projects on hold.
Fears are that a visible stall in a sector that contributes so much to the national output could undermine consumer confidence and discourage people from spending their savings on moving or improving their homes.
Given this backdrop of uncertainty, through the worst of the pandemic and the aftershocks of Brexit, we’ve been buoyed by the stoic pragmatism of our clients, resellers and suppliers. The Minoli business is run with a good measure of care and caution, but the relationships we’ve forged with our customers and professional partners continues to give us confidence. Maintaining open dialogue and tuning into what our customers really want has helped us to keep faith, maintain focus on what we believe in and to continue to invest in our core capabilities, even when trading conditions are volatile.
Premises
Since 2018, the Minoli headquarters in Oxford has near doubled in footprint with the acquisition of two adjacent plots and buildings. This has provided much needed additional storage space for our stock product lines and for the specific ranges we hold in large quantities for contracts with automotive manufacturers and retailers. The company now has quite a presence as the ‘Minoli Village’ straddles both sides of Transport Way, Oxford and is clearly visible with new branding and landscaping.
Housed within one of the recently purchased buildings is our new Factory Outlet store, stocked full of Minoli ranges that have been identified for clearance. The products on offer in the outlet are all Minoli ranges, from our normal production plants but, because they may be from discontinued lines or cancelled corporate orders, they are offered at reduced prices to the public and local trade.
Through 2020 and ’21, whilst we’ve not had as many visitors due to restrictions, we took the opportunity to fully refurbish the meeting spaces and corporate clients’ showroom at Oxford. We’re always looking to create the best possible environment for our clients and to maintain a great workspace for our own team of colleagues. In its current state, Minoli’s impressive, purpose-built headquarters and distribution centre now comprises some 7,000 ft2 of showroom space and 32,000 ft2 of warehousing.
This facility, alongside our central London showrooms and offices, means we can offer all our customers, across southern England and the Capital, a level of service that’s considered second to none. In the summer of 2020, we also undertook significant renovations and upgrading works at our Marylebone premises and created new displays for the large format and XL porcelain tiles that now form such a significant part of our collection.
Stock holding
As the appeal of tile as the in-vogue finish for floors and walls increases, so our production plants diversify their product lines. Technological advancements are making new finishes and formats possible and we’re seeing exciting new products for use inside and outdoors. These include extra-large format slabs and more innovative applications of porcelain such as worktops for kitchens and specialist pieces for bathrooms and swimming pools.
The Minoli product portfolio now represents close to 500 different tile ranges comprising some 3,000 individual product lines and we hold approximately 75% of these in stock ready for despatch, in most cases the next scheduled working day.
Assured that this Minoli in-stock ratio far exceeds the industry norm, our key clients have come to depend on our proven ability to reliably deliver from stock and help them fulfil their commitments and build schedules. With the expansion of our warehousing across the new sites in Oxford, our stockholding has now reached near £3m in net cost value.
Human Resources
Minoli remains an independent, family-run business and the team has grown over the last two years to 45 personnel across all departments and levels. New recruits have joined to fulfil requirements in marketing, the showrooms, business development, the delivery team and accounts.
As a team, we understand the importance of good internal communications and a common can-do approach to providing a seamless overall solution to the challenges our customers face. It’s common for our employees to have been with the company for many years, having joined, progressed and developed in their roles to become experts in their fields.
This length of tenure and low staff turnover at Minoli is testament to the cohesive culture and strong ‘one team’ ethic that thrives throughout the business. We recognise that the high standards of service we offer are reliant on the competencies of our people. As our market grows and the economy stabilises, we will no doubt be investing further in our colleagues and their capabilities.
Delivery Fleet
Minoli have maintained a continuous cycle of upgrades to our delivery fleet and improved our overall distribution resources to keep pace with the growing demand for our products and minimise our impact on the environment.
This past year saw the delivery of another two specially built 16 tonne trucks. With upgraded running gear and fitted with a bespoke body manufactured specifically for Minoli, these latest additions will capably manage a payload of over 8,500 KGs.
With a further £500,000 investment due, two further large capacity, ultra-efficient trucks are in production for delivery in 2022, to accompany the recently added flat-bed model. The Minoli fleet will soon comprise 14 DAF Trucks, 3 Fiat Ducato Vans and a further 5 support vehicles, that will give a daily delivery capacity in excess of 100,000 KGs, all on vehicles specifically designed to meet our needs and those of our clients.
Looking forwards
It’s rewarding to see how the business has grown in capacity and capability, despite the challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic and turbulent Brexit transition. Our strategy of continued investment is yielding benefits for our customers and also our internal ways of working.
Direct feedback from our clients upholds our belief that the fundamentals we focus on, such as stock holding, reliable delivery, long-lasting relationships, a ‘can do’ mentality and plain old professionalism are all integral to our success and growth.
Because we’ve stuck to our ongoing improvement plans, as a business and as a team, we’re better placed to grow again as new and exciting opportunities present themselves in the market.
Going the extra mile for our clients through the tough times has been repaid with loyalty and, more so than ever, we appreciate the support of the customers and suppliers we call ‘friends of Minoli’.
