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Electrical supplies and motorsport?!
2010-03-02
Long gone are the days when a spurious ‘marketing’ pitch was sufficient to justify a whopping great investment by a company in motorsport. If a business’ honchos have a general interest, that helps but there has to be a viable connection and it’s the job of racing teams to illustrate that connection and demonstrate the possible returns that a company might see from such a spend. So how does an electrical franchisee from Norwich come to sponsor a race team?
We’ll be finding out more about Edmundson and the other GMC partners over the course of the season so keep checking back here for updates on the members’ activities around YourRacingCar.com and find out how it’s working for them. A quick catch up with Steve at Edmundson shed some light on what it is they do and how motorsport ties into that.
HJ: You’ve joined YRC’s innovative business networking club and you’re looking forward to coming along to Snetterton with your guests in August. What made you pick motorsport as a way to promote your business based in Norwich?
SF: A personal interest in all things with 4 wheels and luckily I also have lots of customers that share the same passion.
HJ: Steve, how did you get involved in the electrical business?
SF: Entirely by accident... applied for a stores job with an electrical wholesaler through a job centre aged 17, purely to pay the bills. I’ve worked my way up the ladder and not looked back since.
HJ: Edmundson Electrical has a really long and illustrious history in the UK supplying a massive range of trades and industries – almost too many to mention! Tricky question perhaps in light of this but, what’s your key area when it comes to supplying products at the moment?
SF: Our biggest area of growth is energy efficiency, with the price of energy becoming ever greater we are fielding a huge demand for low energy lighting products and energy management equipment, anything related to keeping peoples energy bills down is big business at the moment.
Steve plays with a GT40!
HJ: It’s been a tough time in construction and being a key link in the building supply chain, how has the last few years affected you?
SF: I’m pleased to say that we’ve grown our business steadily during the recent difficult trading conditions. The beginning of 2009 was tough but we took a very aggressive approach to business in our area and sold our strengths which are a very established and knowledgeable team of staff and an unrivalled stockholding. These qualities have brought us through a tough year a much stronger business.
HJ: The company as a whole has won tonnes of awards to boast about – what is it that makes Edmundson stand out from the smaller independent wholesalers and other competitors?
SF: It`s the fact that we trade like a small independent despite being a large organisation. We’re all self sufficient profit centres that rise or fall on our own local decisions, taken by people who know their business and their customers and react to those demands at a local level. We have no centralised purchasing and very little centralised decision making. We do however, all benefit from the buying power and the reputation of the Edmundson name.
HJ: Tell us one thing that people should know about your company?
SF: Our service level and stock availability are unrivalled in our area, please try and prove this wrong!!
HJ: What’s the most exciting project your company has been involved with in recent years?
SF: There are many, the new Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, the
Open Youth Project in Norwich, Great Yarmouth College, the
Fellowes Plain residential development and the Aviva to name a few.
HJ: What do you do for fun?!
SF: Being an unashamed petrol head and boring anyone to tears who isn’t! When I can’t get a fix of anything mechanical then playing poker is my other favourite pastime.
To contact Edmundson Electrical in Norwich check out their website at
Edmundson or contact Steve’s team on
01603 405123 or email them at
norwich.033@eel.co.uk.
Steve and his most valued customers will be joining YourRacingCar.com at the
Snetterton round of the British Touring Car Championships on Sunday 8th August to see Fulvio take their Clio to the podium.
