The senior management team of Woodstock Trading talks ambitious growth plans, expanding bathroom categories and moving into kitchen sales with the acquisition of LochAnna

Alex Seaborn took the reins of Woodstock Trading last year and has overseen the official opening of its warehouse extension and acquisition of LochAnna

“The industry’s best kept secret” is a well-worn phrase, but in the case of Woodstock Trading, it’s possibly true.

In just 20 years, the family-owned business has grown from a shed in the founder’s back garden in Gloucester to a 12,000 sqft HQ with recently refurbished 2,850 sq ft showroom and 120,000sqft warehouse, in Hereford.

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“We’re very humble. We don’t talk extensively, outside of the business, about who we are and what we do”, explains managing director Alex Seaborn who took the reins in 2023.

Although the business may operate in a modest way, it is self-assured about its products, service and striving for continual improvement to drive “ambitious” growth.

Most recently, it has seen the company acquire British furniture supplier LochAnna, which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary, marking a move into kitchens.

Founding principles

Ben Doouss who worked in the bathroom industry for 10 years recognised a gap in the market for furniture which could be delivered to customers quickly led to him creating Woodstock – wooden furniture held in stock.

Starting from a shed in the founder’s backgarden, Woodstock now occupies a 12,00sqft premises

Starting with just three ranges, the company now offers 36 furniture product ranges across its premium Calypso, with 60 stocked colours, and mid-priced Veldeau brand.

It also offers sanitaryware, brassware and mirrors, all using its own fleet, and adhering to its founding logistic principles of reliable and quick supply.

Alex Seaborn explains: “We’ve created five core values that we operate to and we take them seriously. We put the customer first. We care. We’re accountable, We’re stronger together. We’re positive.

“Those five things are really important to the business and to our owners. So, part of my role is to make sure we operate with the right level of integrity.”

Seaborn also highlights the drive for raising standards: “One of the things I’m passionate about is to keep raising standards. That has been a big focus of our business in the last 12-18 months.”

It’s not the only time he and his team talk about continual improvement through marginal gains, to propel the business forward.

Challenging status quo

So how is the bathroom business at the moment? Operating through national retailers, independent retailers and merchants, Alex Seaborn says: “I think we can take some pride in that we’re doing relatively well.

Woodstock has invested in warehousing, offering 120,000sqft of space, to support growth of the business

“We’ll close this year slightly ahead of last year, which I don’t think is an insignificant feat”. In a market with reduced spend frequency, he explains the growth is from taking market share.

Increasing brand visibility has also helped Woodstock grow, particularly in higher-end vanity sales, explains sales director Stephen Robins.

But he adds depth of product and service is the reason retailers partner with Woodstock.

Seaborn continues: “Our OTIF levels are consistently in late 90% and we offer next-day delivery.”

The company is also dedicated to checking each individual order, as head of marketing Charlotte Tilby explains: “We are part of the retailer’s team, helping them and making sure they are giving service to the end-user.”

Kitchen moves

And Woodstock’s passion for bathroom furniture has now crossed over to kitchens, with the acquisition of LochAnna.

Following the acquisition of LochAnna Kitchens, the kitchens are now on display in Woodstock Trading’s Hereford showroom, as well as its Bolton

“There has been this natural desire to move into kitchens from bathrooms, but as an acquisition. We wanted to find a business that matched where we are in terms of markets, product quality and people in the business who care.

“LochAnna is a natural fit with us”, says Seaborn, adding “It was the right time because of where Woodstock was in its journey.”

We’ve got a great team at Woodstock and so had bandwidth to look at new things outside of bathrooms.”

Although learning from each other, the two businesses are operating autonomously: “It definitely hasn’t been take Woodstock and implement it on top of the LochAnna business”, Seaborn states.

He indicates there will be synergies in product development and cross-customer sales, adding “Both businesses have expertise. Ultimately, it’s about how do you make the total greater than the sum of the parts.”

Bathroom expansion

With bathrooms 2.5-3 times bigger than the kitchen side of business, its unsurprising all the categories form part of the growth plans for Woodstock.

Dartmoor slim-framed Shaker furniture is part of the company’s latest Calypso launches

Following the launch of 50 bathroom product ranges in March, the company has now rolled out its Vanity Book to all its customers, introduced the Dartmoor slim Shaker, and curved vanity unit kits in left or right-handed and double options.

“We’re good at looking at our own ranges and conducting gap analysis in an effort to improve our product offering”, explains Charlotte Tilby.

And the company is continuing to expand beyond furniture, furthering sales in complementary categories.

Stephen Robins explains: “We’ve got a trusted brand in furniture. Whilst we’re strong in  some complementary categories,  there is always room for further expansion in new categories. ”

But he refutes claims it is a protectionist move against other bathroom manufacturers launching into furniture.

“In terms of generalist bathroom suppliers expanding into our market, are we expanding into theirs as a result? No we’re not.”

Alex Seaborn simply states: ”Some categories are obvious and natural because our furniture is rarely sold on its own and we can offer the same Woodstock service across all our ranges for our customers.”

In fact, he adds it was the growth of its warehouse capacity, as far back as 2012, which allowed the company to start expanding its bathroom offer.

Refurbished showroom

The growth of its bathroom categories and addition of the LochAnna Kitchens business, created a perfect need to refurbish its head office showroom.

The 2,850 sq ft showroom has been redesigned and refreshed with the latest bathroom products

Alongside its Calypso and Veldeau brands, Woodstock has introduced LochAnna kitchens, repurposing the displays from its Kbb Birmingham stand., and showcasing the synergies of the products in terms of quality and detail.

“There’s a lot of kitchen customers, whether existing or prospective ,who are based south of Hereford. The Bolton showroom is a long way to go, while Hereford is an easier venue to reach, for somebody in London for example.”

But the business will not be adding bathroom displaysto the LochAnna Kitchen displays in Bolton, because it doesn’t want to remove existing displays.

He adds: “We will keep the Bolton site as it’s a really important part of the kitchen proposition, but we felt it was important to have a kitchen presence in Hereford.”

Turning up volume

In just two decades, Woodstock has been on quite some journey with continued investment into warehouse capacity, introduction of its own delivery fleet, environmental certification ISO 14001, and LochAnna acquisition.

With a continued focus on its core independent retail market, it will seek retailers who share the same values as the company.

Seaborn says: “For us it’s almost like a mirrored reflection of who we are. Do they offer the right level of service. Are they dealing with good suppliers?”

While Stephen Robins adds: “And have they got the design expertise within their business?”

Woodstock may not shout about the business, but certainly the conversation is growing in volume.

Alex Seaborn concludes: “There’s no doubt we’ve got ambition to grow here. We’ve got a solid, secure foundation and the right people in our business doing the right things.

Ultimately what we’re striving for is sustainable, profitable growth with long-term retail partnerships.”