Selco News

Savoury treats were the order of the day at our Thurrock branch as colleagues, customers and suppliers joined forces to raise funds for our nominated charity for 2020, Global’s Make Some Noise.

A total of £220 was raised as colleagues displayed their culinary talents, with sausage rolls, quiches and pies all on the menu.

Branch manager David Burke said: “Special thanks should go to Malkit Nanda, Joanna Seare and Lewis Smith and we appreciated all colleagues, customers and suppliers who dug deep into their pockets to raise a good amount of money for Global’s Make Some Noise.

“During normal times every Friday, we have a cake day where colleagues bring in their favourite sweet treats so we thought we would change up the theme and it certainly worked well.”

A Swansea charity which helps create a brighter future for women in the city has been given a helping hand by our local branch.

Our team in Swansea has provided Growing Real Opportunities for Women (GROW) Cymru with sand and cement to help the group renovate a new private meeting room at its headquarters, based in St David’s Shopping Centre.

GROW Cymru creates employment opportunities for women left feeling frustrated and isolated because of social, economic and educational barriers. It supports up to 25 women at any one time.

Sharon Rouse, chief executive of GROW Cymru, said: “We are thrilled and grateful for the support Selco has provided.

“A number of the women we support suffer with anxiety and depression so we were keen to create a room for our new ‘Only Women Allowed’ scheme where they could meet with a level of privacy.

“The room we identified needed a lot of work and the sand and cement was crucial to level the floor and make it fit for purpose.

“It’s fantastic to see companies such as Selco getting involved in supporting local community initiatives.”

Warren Matthews, our Swansea branch manager, said: “GROW Cymru does outstanding work in the local area and we are delighted to show our support.”

Sports fans in Bristol can test their darting skills against Fallon Sherrock when ‘The Queen of the Palace’ visits Selco next week.

Sherrock – who shot to international fame by becoming the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship over Christmas – will be at our Bristol Filton branch on Thursday (March 5), from 2pm to 4pm.

Members of the public are invited to come along to take on Sherrock – who will play in the UK Open in Minehead the following day - in special nine dart challenges.

Challengers will attempt to score more points with nine darts than Sherrock can manage with six.

The event is being staged to celebrate our ongoing partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “Our partnership with the PDC has got off to a tremendous start and it has given us the opportunity to engage with our customers in new and exciting ways such as this.

“Fallon is one of the biggest names in darts after her exploits in reaching the last 32 of the World Championship over Christmas. It was a story which captured the imagination of the nation and even the world and made her a household name.

“It will be fantastic to have her in branch. There is no need to book – just come down to Selco Bristol Filton between 2pm and 4pm. We will have prizes up for grabs and it’s a great chance for people to take on one of the best players in the world.”

Selco’s Bristol Filton branch is on Taurus Road, off Gipsy Patch Lane (BS34 6QD).

We’ve officially opened our newest branch in Orpington – and donated £4,000 to the local community in the process!

As part of our ongoing expansion around the UK, we’ve cut the ribbon on our 68th branch, which is based on Cray Avenue.

We had a fantastic opening party which included donations to local groups – and an appearance from former world champion darts player Rob Cross!

Selco made £1,000 donations to The Chris Aked Foundation and Orpington Eagles Football Club, as well as pledging a further £2,000 to our nominated charity Global’s Make Some Noise.

Mat Brice, branch manager at Selco Orpington, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to further strengthen our presence in Kent and the south east with the opening of this branch which will serve tradespeople of the local area.

“Supporting charities and community groups in the local areas in which we operate is an integral part of the Selco ethos so we are delighted to mark the opening of our new branch with a £4,000 donation. We hope the funding will make a real difference to very worthy causes.”

The Chris Aked Foundation was set up nearly two years ago to offer children and their families counselling and memory making days from the moment a parent or sibling is diagnosed with a serious illness.

Orpington Eagles, who play in division three of the Woolwich & Eltham Sunday Football Alliance, have been granted £1,000 worth of building materials to help renovate the clubhouse at their home pitch of the St Mary Cray Recreation Ground.

Meanwhile, more than 100 people turned up to the new branch to try their luck against darter Rob Cross.

Cross agreed to come to the opening as part of Selco’s official partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation.

People took on Cross in special challenges in which they had to score more points with nine darts than the pro could manage with six – and some bagged free tickets to the final of the Unibet Premier League for succeeding.

See you in branch soon - BR5 4HE.

We’re delighted to have taken the wraps off a £1 million-plus investment in our digital platforms by launching our new website.

Tradespeople across the UK will be greeted with the latest cutting-edge technology when they log on to selcobw.com

The website improvements, made on the back of feedback from customers, mark the start of a range of improvements in our digital programme to help tradespeople purchase materials and products in the most convenient way possible.

Enhancements to the website include a real time stock check - allowing customers to ensure availability of product in a particular branch through the click of a button - and streamlining the checkout process from five stages to two.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco, said: “The launch of the new website has been a major project over recent months and is a result of extensive research carried out with our customers.

“We have left no stone unturned in terms of achieving the best possible outcome and we are delighted with the end result.

“We had more than nine million visits to the website in 2019 and online sales have risen by nearly 200 per cent in recent years, which shows just how crucial the digital presence of our business is.

“Our last website saw us make some very significant strides, such as publishing our product catalogue online, allowing customers to purchase online for the first time and introducing services such as Click & Collect and Click & Deliver.

“All of those initiatives have provided extremely popular and we have similarly ambitious plans to be industry leaders when it comes to the latest technological advances. We are very confident that the new website will be well received by tradespeople.

“This is just the first in a number of exciting changes we are making digitally as we constantly adjust to the changing shopping habits of tradespeople. We understand that time is money for our customers and they want to shop as quickly and as efficiently as possible. The website is purpose built to help us achieve that.”

It also features enhanced search functions and branch pages, while the ability to build project lists – which was previously done through an app – will now be hosted on the website.

Carine added: “We have utilised Progressive Web Applications (PWA) in the building of the website to ensure we have made it as mobile friendly, quick and secure as possible and provide an outstanding user experience for tradespeople.”

We’re delighted to unveil Global’s Make Some Noise as our official charity partner of the year!

Global’s Make Some Noise was created by Global, the Media & Entertainment group, to help small projects that support disadvantaged children and young people living with illness, disability or lack of opportunity, and their families.

With the help of Global’s radio brands - Heart, Capital, Smooth, Classic FM, LBC, Radio X, Capital XTRA and Gold – which collectively reach more than 34 million people across the UK, Global’s Make Some Noise raises money and awareness for small charities that would otherwise struggle to be heard.

Selco has a proud record of supporting charities and will support Global’s Make Some Noise with their work which helps to change young lives throughout 2020. The new partnership will see us work with Global’s Make Some Noise across a number of fundraising activities, events and volunteering opportunities this year.

The partnership got off to a flying start at the Selco Business Conference where £20,000 was raised for the charity and Radio X presenter Johnny Vaughan made a special appearance.

We’re a longstanding supporter of Global’s Make Some Noise and have sponsored the national charity’s annual appeal with airtime on Radio X for the past two years. We’re also delighted to donate £1,000 to Global’s Make Some Noise each time a new store is opened.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director for Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “We are thrilled to be starting an official partnership with Global’s Make Some Noise. We have provided a level of support over the last two years which has given an insight into the fantastic work that Global’s Make Some Noise does for disadvantaged children and young people, and it was an easy decision to take it to the next level. We have just under 3,000 colleagues across our Support Centre and 67 UK branches so it’s difficult to find a charity which resonates with everyone geographically. The fact that Global’s Make Some Noise supports numerous projects based across the UK means that our teams in different areas of the country can associate and create a relationship with the small charities closest to them.”

Emma Bradley, Managing Director of Global’s Make Some Noise, said: “We are delighted to be Selco’s official charity partner. Supporting charities and communities is a big part of Selco’s ethos and we’re proud to be working together to help families living difficult lives across the UK. Global’s Make Some Noise is committed to supporting small charities that help children and young people who are living with illness, disability or lack of opportunity. The money raised will fund vital equipment or life-changing services, such as therapy, counselling, nursing or support groups, helping children and their families reach their full potential and feel less isolated.”

Sports fans in Orpington can test their darting skills against a current Premier League star and former world champion when we open our latest branch in the town next week.

Rob Cross, who won the World Championship two years ago and the World Matchplay last July, will be at the brand new Selco Builders Warehouse on Cray Avenue (BR5 4HE) between 9am and 11am on Wednesday, February 19.

Members of the public are invited to come along to the branch to take on Cross, who is ranked No 4 in the world and is known as Voltage as he is a former electrician, in special nine dart challenges.

The event is being staged to mark the opening of our 68th UK branch and celebrates our official partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “A new branch opening is always an exciting time and there is no better way to mark it than having one of the world’s top darts players present to take on our customers, colleagues and the general public.

“Rob is one of the biggest names in the sport and the way he won the World Championship in 2018 was an incredible story.

“There is no need to book – just come down to Selco Orpington between 9am and 11am. We will have prizes up for grabs and it’s a great chance for people to take on one of the best players in the world.”

Penkridge Cricket Club are toasting a perfect start to their 70th anniversary year after winning £1,000 worth of building materials from Selco.

The Pillaton club claimed the prize after we ran a competition in conjunction with Birmingham Bears, as we were Bears’ headline shirt sponsor for 2019.

The Club Together initiative saw cricket clubs from across the Midlands invited to take advantage of a special discounted ticket offer for Bears home matches throughout the T20 Blast campaign.

The club which sold the most tickets over the summer won £1,000 worth of products from Selco – and Penkridge came out on top.

They will use the funds to carry out improvements to the clubhouse to help support matches and practice sessions for 15 teams covering cricket for men, women and juniors.

Clare Mills, secretary of the club which has their first team playing in the South Staffs County League, said: “It’s fantastic news that we have won the prize and a great start to what is a special anniversary year for the club. It’s a huge boost to players, members and spectators alike.

“We are looking to use the Selco products to carry out work to our clubhouse which is looking tired and it’s a very important focal point for the club.

“We are always aiming to improve on and off the field and this will help us towards achieving that.”

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “One of the key aspects of our sponsorship of Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears has been to ensure we give something back to the community and local cricket clubs is a great way to do that.

“Penkridge Cricket Club are worthy winners and we hope our prize will make a big difference to the club.”

Ben Seifas, commercial partnerships manager at Warwickshire CCC, said: “We’re very grateful to Selco and to all local cricket clubs that signed up to our Club Together scheme, particularly the winners at Penkridge CC.”

We’re giving charities and community groups in Orpington the chance to benefit from a share of a £3,000 windfall!

We’re inviting groups from in and around the town to submit an application for our Selco Stars scheme for the chance to win £1,000.

It’s just one way we are marking the launch of Selco branch number 68, which opens on Cray Avenue in Orpington on Wednesday, February 19, creating more than 50 local jobs in the process.

Applicants are invited to explain in no more than 100 words how the money would benefit their organisation.

In addition to the one winner selected from the Selco Stars initiative, we’ll also make a £2,000 donation to our new charity partner Global’s Make Some Noise, which helps small projects that support disadvantaged children, young people and their families who are living with illness, disability or lack of opportunity.

Mat Brice, branch manager at Selco Orpington, said: “We’re very excited to be opening in a new location, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by offering a great opportunity to local charities and community groups.

“So many organisations do such fantastic work in our community and we are very proud to be able to give them the chance to win a sum of money which will make a real difference.”

Entries can be made by filling in a form form at www.selcobw.com/info/orpington-charity-application by midnight on Wednesday February 12 and one group will be selected by a panel of judges to win the £1,000.

 

Selco has started the new decade with a bang by crashing through the £700,000 fundraising barrier for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Our staff, customers and suppliers have embarked on numerous fundraising projects for Macmillan since 2012.

The sustained push to raise money has paid dividends with the total amount donated to Macmillan standing at £733,000.

The fundraising exploits have seen hundreds of events staged including golf days, participants taking part in epic bike, walking and running challenges and supporting the annual Macmillan Coffee Morning.

Carine Jessamine, Selco marketing director, said: “We are thrilled to have raised more than £700,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. “That amount seemed a distant dream when we teamed up with Macmillan back in 2012 but the charity has captured the minds of everyone associated with the business.

“So many people have first-hand experience of the outstanding work the Macmillan team do and it’s a charity which has resonated with customers, staff and suppliers alike. “While we support a host of charities through local community initiatives, the drive to raise money for Macmillan has been one of our big charity priorities over the last seven years and the results have been outstanding.

“While our official partnership is now coming to an end, we will continue to support Macmillan moving forward and plan to host Coffee Morning events in all 67 branches and our Support Centre.

“We look forward to announcing a new official charity partner we will be working with in 2020 and beyond over the coming weeks.”

Fern West, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said “We are so pleased to have worked with Selco during the past seven years and the incredible £733,000 they have raised has made a massive difference to people living with cancer.

“Being told ‘you have cancer’ can affect so much more than your health – it can also affect your family, your job, even your ability to pay the bills. But you’re still you. We get that and, after over 100 years of helping people through cancer, we get what’s most important is that you’re treated as a person, not just a patient.

“But all this work could not continue without the generous donations we receive from dedicated partners like Selco Builders Warehouse. For information, support, or just someone to talk to, call 0808 808 00 00 or visit macmillan.org.uk”