Happy Birthday Style Counsel Interiors!
On the 1st of October 2009 the award-winning Style Counsel Interiors celebrated its sixth birthday. Managing Director Jane Louise Pickup has a few words of advice for SME’s trading in today’s still turbulent economic environment:
“Nobody could say that it’s been easy running a business over the past twelve months, and few are in the enviable position of posting record profits. The old adage “turnover is vanity, profit is sanity” has never been more true and it’s been crucial these last twelve months to focus on profit. Throughout our sixth year of trading I’ve concentrated on scrutinizing our business operations from top to bottom and stripping out any unnecessary or excessive overheads to ensure that we have once again recorded a profitable year of trading. Basic things such as utilities bills, insurance contracts and telecoms costs have all been reviewed in minute detail and significant savings have been achieved.
Not only have we managed to secure another profitable year of trading for Style Counsel Interiors but we’ve invested heavily in the launch of our new online venture, Style Direct Furniture. Style Direct has been an exciting challenge for me with a business model based around outsourced storage and delivery, with products being delivered straight from the manufacturer. We’re already receiving orders daily via the online site www.styledirectfurniture.co.uk and have successfully run the two businesses hand in hand with the experienced team in the office without the requirement for additional staffing costs.
Yes it’s been tough, but personally I thrive on a challenge. We’ve all had to be extremely flexible in our approach to customer demands and nothing short of absolute excellence in customer service has been acceptable for me to ensure customer retention and the development of new business. I’m suspicious of anyone who claims that their business is thriving these days; I like most business leaders am pretty sure the UK economy is not out of the woods yet. However I’m confident that keeping in touch with consumer needs, a realistic expectation of turnover and a strong focus on overhead costs and profit as opposed to turnover will make sure that Style Counsel Interiors will thrive as we enter our seventh year of trading.”
Notes
Style Counsel Interiors won a National Business Award sponsored by Orange in 2008 in the Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category for the North West region. The company was recognised for its ability to demonstrate significant growth and innovation in its market sector, under-pinned by strong financial performance. Managing Director, Jane Louise Pickup was also awarded a Highly Commended accolade in the Credit Suisse Entrepreneur of the Year category. Jane also received the 2008 Business Person of the Year award in the Congleton Borough Business Awards.
Style Counsel Interiors is based in Dane Mill Business Centre in Congleton, Cheshire with a warehouse on the outskirts of Congleton, and employs its own installation team. New in 2009 has been the launch of Style Direct Furniture which offers web based sales of a much wider range of household furniture direct to the consumer. Unique to the Style Direct Furniture offering is a SmartBuy option resulting in greater savings the more products purchased. Furthermore Style Direct Furniture offers Buy Now Pay Later finance to customers, subject to status.
For further information and images please contact:
Angela Lawrence DipM MCIM, Chartered Marketer
info@iteromarketing.com
www.iteromarketing.com
