Our People
My name is Mark Owen.
Mark Owen, Management Trainee
I started working for Selco in 2008 as a Shop Floor Supervisor in our Ardwick branch. As I was new to the industry, it was a whole new world to me.
I spent the first few months of my Selco career training in our Baguley branch enduring ‘on the job training’ learning as much of the day to day operation of a typical Selco store as possible before moving to our new purpose built store in Ardwick. I was heavily involved in the ‘new store set up & stocking in operation’before we opened our doors to the customers.
During my time at Ardwick I learnt as much of the business as I could as it was obvious that this company has a policy of promoting from within. I spent just over 18 months at our Ardwick branch before applying to get on to the Selco Management Trainee Programme.
I was successful in my application & started on the Training programme in January 2010. My last 12 months have been spent travelling around the country to many of our nationwide stores developing my skills & knowledge of the company & its operations.
The time & effort that Selco has put in to my development has been brilliant & has enhanced my opportunity of one day becoming a branch manager.
My name is Mike Grendon.
Mike Grendon, Deputy Branch Manager
I started with Selco back in 2001 as a Sales Assistant in our Stirchley branch. My duties mainly involved stock replenishment, labelling and customer service. I held this role on a part time basis and continued working at Selco until I went to University in 2002.
During my time at university I came back to work at Selco during the summer breaks getting more involved in regional projects and helping out at different stores across the country.
In 2006 I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a 2:1 degree in Business Management and applied to be on the Selco Trainee Management Programme. I was successful and started on the course in 2007.
The training programme took me to various parts of the country including Bristol, Cardiff, Cricklewood and Manchester where I learned all about the operation of Selco.
One of the projects I enjoyed the most was the involvement I had in the building of our new store in Reading. It was an opportunity I could not have obtained anywhere else. Although daunting it was very exciting. One minute I was dealing with racking contractors and the next dealing with 45 employees who I was responsible for.
After successfully completing the 2 year programme I was placed as a Deputy Branch Manager in our brand new store in Perry Barr, Birmingham. I am still in this position now and enjoy the challenges a new store in a new area brings; from local marketing and customer recruitment to stock management and customer service.
Will Parker
My name is Will Parker
I started my career in 2002 as a Stock Controller in Stirchley, Birmingham. This was at a period of real growth for the company and I was the first person to take on this role – being responsible for £1 Million worth of stock was very challenging!
In 2004 the business developed a new fully integrated computer system. With computing being a real hobby of mine, combined with the experience I’d gained whilst working in stores I was asked to take up a position at our Head Office as part of the development team. This included working with 3rd party software developers to develop the system to meet the needs of our ever expanding business. Two years later in 2006 we were ready to roll out the system to the 16 stores we had at the time at which point I took up a role of helping to train the new system to staff nationwide.
After that I was promoted to Application Support Manager, within the IT department at Head Office. My role involved continuing to help develop the system as well as working with a team to help the business with day to day IT related issues.
In 2009 I was given the opportunity to join the internal Management Training Programme to encourage the growth of individuals from within the business. The ultimate aim of the course is to get into Store management, a 2 year programme designed to build on existing knowledge and skills. The role has enabled me to travel and given me the opportunity to work with lots of great people along the way – all helping me to improve myself and learn more every day.
