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Bishop's Move
Page 50
Page 51
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At least two of the major national names in removals Britannia and Bishop's Move -take a franchise approach to expanding their brands and building national networks to match part and backloads.
Nigel Bishop is boss of Bishop's Move, founded in 1854 and currently on its sixth generation of working family members. The limited company has a turnover of 226 million and decided to develop the franchising model in the late 1970s with help from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The concept is to link with reputable businesses in new geographical areas who will put part of their fleet in Bishop's colours.
Bishop's then allocates work, co-ordinates backioads and takes a management fee, as well as monitoring performance to ensure brand integrity is maintained. By this method it can expand the market without having to make large capital investments and give household, corporate and commercial customers the reassurance of seeing their goods depart and arrive in a Bishop'sliveried vehicle. "It's safer than subcontracting because we have quality control," Bishop explains. "Simply operating expensive vehicles gives a comparatively low return on profit."
According to Bishop, that's 5-7% although the figure is around double the average for the general haulage sector.
"We're becoming more of a [removal] broker than a carrier," he explains. "The biggest area for developing profits is in business relocations, where companies are looking for a 'one-stop shop'."
This involves Bishop's managing every aspect of a given move, from project management to crate hire. And of course, that involvement attracts an added-value price premium.
Bishop's has 18 depots in the UK, as well as one in Spain, and is a member of BAR. Training is extensively in-house with new entrants being required to pass an intensive week's course before being exposed to the public. "Funding is hard to obtain, so we had to bite the bullet and do it ourselves," says Bishop. Corporate moves and business relocations now account for 30% of overall business, "I think our customers are selective," Bishop claims carefully. Certainly the firm seems to aim for a high NB social demographic base.
A lot of work, especially shipping and part loads, is generated by the company website and Bishop estimates the firm which counts such well known names as Pickfords, Robinsons and Whites among its competitors has around 8% of the overall removal sector market.
One of its more recent moneyspinners, selling of removals-related insurance, attracts its own set of complexities. Not only does the firm have to comply with health and safety and transport laws; it must now also must be FSA-registered to deal with finance.
"Basic removals are probably marking time, so we have a business development team to expand the Bishop's brand beyond the current 10 franchisees," concludes the company's articulate managing director.