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MAY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
TRADE COUNTER SPOTLIGHT
www.proinstaller.co.uk
MAKING FRIENDS AT FIT
Window and door trade counter supplier, Truemans, exhibited for the first time at the FIT
Show this year and they certainly got the whole place ‘perked’ up with a distinctive stand.
The company got the
people’s vote for its
distinctive stand, the
‘Truemans Coffee
House,’ which was designed along the lines
of the famous New York
Central Perk coffee
house from the hit 90s
TV series, Friends.
The aim was to create
a welcoming, warm and
relaxed atmosphere where
people could gather, relax
and have a hot drink with
friends or business contacts.
Truemans, who started
out manufacturing 20 years
ago using Selecta profile,
took the decision to stop
fabricating five years ago
and buy-in Rehau, Halo and
Spectus frames, along with
composite doors, conservatory roofs, bi-folds, and
timber alternative PVCu
windows.Today, Truemans
is a rapidly expanding trade
counter business o verseen
by managing director Joe
Trueman - who is only 30 and the Truemans team.
So successful has the
company’s business model
been that it now sells over
1,000 frames a week, is
able to offer free skip use,
provide a delivery service
and full marketing support,
along with selling fixings
and packers at its Trade
Counters. In addition to
the Burnley branch, the
business opened a trade
counter in Sheffield in 2012,
followed by another in
Doncaster in 2013. This year
it opened a fourth trade
counter in Crewe, the biggest one to date at 7,200 sq
ft, with great success.
The counters supply
quality products and
consumables to installers,
local builders, joiners and
DIY customers around the
north of England. Frames,
glass, panels, composite
doors, conservatory roofs,
trims, silicone, fixings and
cleaners are all supplied.
Without the pressures of
manufacturing, Truemans
is free to focus on customers. Joe Trueman said: “We
offer a huge range of systems and colour options
and can add new products
hassle free, in-line with
industry trends to help
customers capitalise on
lucrative markets. We buy
in high volumes of frames
meaning we can pass on
trade discounts, saving
customers money on every
job.
“We no longer install products ourselves so we aren’t
competing with installers
for business. Instead, we
aim to help them find new
customers in their area by
giving them the best possible service and offering
comprehensive marketing
support.”
The marketing support is
personalised with a bespoke
brochure, ten drop cards, a
product guarantee, maintenance guide and energy
certificate. Other marketing materials can also be
provided such as business
cards, key rings, websites,
van design, flyers, posters,
digital display and even
uniform design.
The Truemans FIT Show
stand with its orange sofa,
rotating coffee cup and
live streaming Twitter wall
proved a real
focus. There was
also a giant TV
with a show reel
of photos and videos, plus a magazine
stand complete with
Truemans’ FIT Show
newspaper. The stand concept grew out of the idea
that window fitters and installers are offered free hot
drinks at Truemans trade
counters to start or end
their busy working days.
Nicola Stevens, marketing
support manager, said: “All
our suppliers and products
were already at the show,
so we thought what do
our customers or potential
customers really want from
us? The concept was to just
encourage people to stop
and hang out with us for a
while.
“We didn’t want our stand
to be like other stands,
and we wanted to set
ourselves apart with our
customer service ethos. We
want installers to know
that we will try and help
support them through the
bad times as well as the
good. The stand we created
was about injecting some
personality. And it seems
to have worked – we had
a lot of fun chatting to
visitors who came on the
stand.”