Selco News

Three charities were given a pre-Christmas cash windfall and local residents had the chance to test their darting skills against a world class darts star as we opened our new branch in Kingston.

The ribbon has been cut at Selco’s 67th branch, which is based on St Georges Industrial Estate on Richmond Road and has created 50 jobs in the local community.

To mark the opening and as part of our partnership with the Professional Darts Cooperation, world No 8 James Wade stepped up to the oche in the branch to take on customers and staff in fun darts challenges.

In addition, we also made three £1,000 donations to the Fire Fighters Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support and Global’s Make Some Noise.

Roy Barnard, Branch Manager at Selco Kingston, said: “We are delighted to have opened Selco’s latest branch and our newest one-stop shop for tradespeople.

“There was a fantastic buzz in branch on our official launch day and a real sense of pride that we were able to support three charities which do fantastic work in Kingston and beyond.

“Macmillan Cancer Support and Global’s Make Some Noise are our nominated national charity partners and we were delighted to select the Fire Fighters Charity, which provides specialist lifelong support for member of the UK’s fire services, as our third recipient.

“Our branch is very close to the fire station in Kingston so it was a natural fit.”

The Fire Fighters Charity provides mental, physical and social support to past and present firefighters across the UK.

Natasha Mason, Regional Fundraising Manager for the Fire Fighters Charity, said: “We support around 5,000 fire personnel a year who have fallen on difficult times and our main aim is to help people move forward positively with their lives.

“Selco’s donation is a wonderful gesture and will go a long way to supporting our beneficiaries.”

We are committed to supporting Global’s Make Some Noise, a national charity that funds and empowers projects and small charities across the UK helping children and young people living with illness, disability or lack of opportunity. Charities include Our Time, Regenerate and Skylarks, all of which operate near Kingston.

Jasmine Morgan, Make Some Noise’s Partnerships Development Manager, said: “We’re thrilled that Global’s Make Some Noise has been recognised by Selco for this latest opening in Kingston.”

“Selco’s generous donation will help us to continue supporting small but vital charities close to Kingston and across the UK. These charities can be the difference between coping and not for vulnerable or disadvantaged children, young people and their families.”

Selco’s donation to Macmillan Cancer Support’s work in Kingston is in addition to more than £700,000 it has raised for the charity nationally over the past seven years.

Fern West, from Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Selco has provided amazing backing nationally over the last seven years and it is fantastic that people in and around Kingston will benefit with assistance for bills, such as heating, through Selco’s contribution towards Macmillan grants.”

Charities and hospices across England and Wales have received almost £20,000 worth of food and supplies, thanks to a generous pre-Christmas giveaway by Selco.

All of our 67 branches surprised local good causes with food bundles and gifts as the countdown to the festive season begins.

Each branch was given at least £250 worth of vouchers, with our staff enjoying going wild in the aisles before delivering the goods to their chosen groups.

The total value of donations was a huge £19,400.

Groups right across the country benefited, from Changing Lives York, which is close to our most northern branch, to Dorset Children’s Foundation, near the most southern Selco in Poole.

We have since been inundated with messages of thanks and support.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director at Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “We decided that it would be a great thing to do to give these amazing groups a boost in the lead-up to Christmas.

“We regularly support charities through our Selco Stars initiative but it was nice to do something completely out of the blue as a one-off surprise at a special time of year.

“I know the branches enjoyed selecting their chosen groups and then going to purchase and present the goods to the charities.

“Money can be so hard to come by for charities so donations like these really do make a difference.”

Selco has demonstrated its commitment to customer and staff welfare by installing dozens of new defibrillators across the entire business.

All 67 of our branches, as well as our Support Centre in Wythall near Birmingham and our new Edmonton delivery hub, will be fitted with a defibrillator in the run-up to Christmas.

Selco chief executive Howard Luft explained it is about enhancing the survival chances of anyone who suffers a sudden cardiac arrest at one of our branches.

He said: “We have five million individual customer visits annually and more than 3,000 staff so, when you are dealing with that number, there is a chance that incidents around unexpected cardiac arrests can happen.

“By Christmas we will be in a position where we can respond to such a situation immediately and all the statistics suggest that being able to administer effective treatment quickly can be the difference between life and death.

“It is imperative that the business made this investment and, even if we save one life over time, it’s money very well spent.”

In the UK, there are around 30,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests and more than 90 percent of those people will die without immediate treatment.

Survival chances increase significantly if a shock is delivered within three to five minutes of collapse.

Kerry Fairhurst, marketing manager for defibshop.co.uk which Selco purchased the equipment from, said: “We applaud the measures Selco have taken and we encourage other businesses to follow suit.

“Research shows that more than 52 percent of businesses have never considered purchasing a defib which is alarming because many of those will be customer-facing.

“Selco have been very proactive in their approach and the business is certainly well-prepared should any incidents happen in branches or their headquarters in the future.”

Sports fans in the West Midlands are being given a unique chance to test their darting skills against one of the best players in the world – at their local Selco branch.

World number five Gerwyn Price will be making a guest appearance at Selco Wolverhampton, on Stafford Road (WV10 6HH), between 11am and 1pm on Friday.

Members of the public are invited to visit the branch to take on the ‘Iceman’, who is a Premier League star, in special nine dart challenges for the chance to win spot prizes.

It’s the perfect way for darts fans to warm up for a huge week of action in Wolverhampton, with the Grand Slam of Darts taking place at Aldersley Leisure Village from Saturday, where Price will be defending the title he won last year.

Price’s appearance at Selco is part of our flourishing partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation and follows a recent similar event with darts legend Gary Anderson in Leicester.

Carine Jessamine, Selco marketing director, said: “We’re really excited to welcome Gerwyn into our Wolverhampton branch.

“Gerwyn is one of the biggest names in the sport. To be able to give people the chance to play darts against him is fantastic – a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“The people of Wolverhampton love their darts and look forward to the Grand Slam each year, so it should be a cracking event.”

There is no need to book – just come down to Selco Wolverhampton between 11am and 1pm. The event is free of charge.

We’ve been recognised for our commitment to the environment by being shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

Selco is one of seven companies and organisations shortlisted for the Lighting Energy Impact category at the Energy Awards.

Our award entry caught the eye of the judges after we undertook a major project to fit our entire branch network with high-tech LED lighting.

More than half of the branches have already completed the change – and those which haven’t will be making the switch in the coming months to complete the ambitious LED lighting refit programme.

The impact of Selco moving to LED has already been eye-catching, with the investment resulting in the saving of almost 69 tonnes of carbon per store every year.

Scaled over all 66 branches, that represents the equivalent of almost 200,000 trees – or 89 football pitches full of trees.

Our Reading branch has seen its electricity usage plummet from 141,565 kWh since March 2018 to 86,774 kWh in the same period this year – a decrease of 40 per cent, while our Tyseley branch in Birmingham has seen usage reduced by more than 55 per cent.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for what are the biggest awards of their kind in the UK.

“The LED refit programme is a huge undertaking and requires a significant financial investment, but we are committed to maximising our sustainability as a business and utilising the best environmental solution possible.

“We have also received very positive feedback from customers and staff who all believe that the changes have improved the working and shopping conditions in our branches.”

Sensors operating in tandem with each individual LED luminaire are also being introduced to each branch.

The sensors react to the contribution of natural daylight delivered via the transparent roof light panels in-store, thus producing the necessary light levels required rather than constantly being at a higher fixed illumination output. Utilising daylight harvesting technology improves the efficiency of the LED lighting system by between 10 and 15 per cent.

The LEDs and sensors are being installed by Thorn Lighting UK. Based in the north east of England, Thorn is the country’s largest lighting manufacturer.

Amongst the other finalists for the awards are Marks and Spencer and London Luton and Heathrow Airports. The winners will be revealed on Thursday November 21 at a ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Coffee, cakes, competitions and hair shaves were the order of the day, as we raised thousands of pounds for our charity partner.

All of our 66 branches held special events to support Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

A total of £8,518 was raised across the country by Selco colleagues Carine Jessamine, marketing director at Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “It was fantastic to see all of our branches getting involved to support this big day in Macmillan’s calendar.

“Having worked with Macmillan for some seven years, we know that every pound makes a difference to the lives of those affected by cancer, and their loved ones.”

“Our staff are always keen to get creative to raise money for this great cause.

Selco colleagues got busy in the kitchen to bake cakes to sell to sweet-toothed customers.

In our Crayford branch, two members of staff had their heads and beards shave to boost coffers, while the Leeds Roundhay branch ran a darts competition, with the highest scorer on the day winning a smart TV.

Other branches held raffles with prizes donated by customers and suppliers.

Selco is a long-time supporter of Macmillan, having raised almost £750,000 for the charity since the partnership began in 2012.

Sports fans in Leicester can warm up for a huge weekend of darting action in the city by testing their ability against one of the world’s leading players – at one of our branches!

Gary Anderson, who is world number three and will be defending his Champions League of Darts title at the Morningside Arena on Saturday and Sunday, will be at Selco Builders Warehouse on Parker Drive (LE4 0JP) in Leicester between 11am and 1pm on Friday.

Members of the public are invited to come along to the branch to take on the ‘Flying Scotsman’, who won the World Championship in 2015 and 2016, in special nine dart challenges.

It’s all part of our official partnership with the Professional Darts Corporation.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director of Selco Builders Warehouse, said: “We are thrilled to be hosting Gary, one of the biggest names in the sport, in our Leicester branch ahead of a major weekend of darts in the city.

“Gary’s renowned as one of the best players in the world so we are delighted to give people the chance to come along and test their darting skills against him.

“There is no need to book – just come down to Selco Leicester between 11am and 1pm for what will be a fun and exciting event.

“It’s the perfect warm-up to the Champions League of Darts and a rare opportunity for people to take on one of the very best players in the world.”

We found a unique way to solve the Monday morning blues of our customers last week – giving away more than £13,000 in a few hours across the country.

Each of our 66 branches gave customers the chance to win £200 worth of Sainsbury’s shopping vouchers, simply by being the first person into a store wearing an item of Selco merchandise.

The quickfire initiative was promoted on social media through our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and created a major buzz amongst professional tradespeople battling for the prizes across the branch network.

Carine Jessamine, marketing director for Selco, said: “We are always looking at innovative ways to give something back to our loyal customer base and this certainly brightened up an otherwise dull Monday morning in October.

“Selco t-shirts, hats and other such merchandise are extremely popular with our customers when they are out on their jobs.

“All they had to do to claim the prize was be the first person into their branch that morning wearing something with Selco branding.

“It truly was a case of the early bird catches the worm and we had lots of happy customers.”

A bold new initiative designed to provide staff members with new career opportunities and address the shortage of HGV drivers has been devised by Selco.

Working in partnership with Interserve Learning & Employment and Fleetmaster, we have launched a Driving Academy for our staff, the first phase of which could produce up to 50 fully qualified HGV drivers.

Selco colleagues selected to be part of the scheme will embark on a 14-month Level 2 Apprenticeship. They will complete the practical elements of the course within four months and will then continue with the theoretical and educational sections.

The chance to take part in the apprenticeship was presented to all staff and Selco HR development manager Simon Ball was delighted with the interest it generated. He said: “We are aware that not all colleagues have a burning desire to become a supervisor or a duty manager.

“The chance to become a fully qualified HGV driver brings with it the potential to significantly increase career opportunities and earning potential and it has proved appealing for many.

“We had initial interest from 58 colleagues and I would expect a high percentage of those to start the apprenticeship.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for those colleagues who are interested and also helps us deal with the skills shortage which is evident across the country and across many different industries when it comes to HGV drivers.”

Selco staff who signed up for the apprenticeship and passed an initial assessment attended launch events in Birmingham and Watford this week. The apprenticeships will be overseen by leading training provider Interserve Learning & Employment, with Fleetmaster conducting the practical driving elements of the course.

Jennifer Munslow, account manager at Interserve Learning & Employment, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Selco and Fleetmaster to bring the apprenticeship to fruition. These forward-thinking companies share our vision to inspire talent and invest in people through innovative training solutions.

“We are proud to be a trusted partner and we look forward to working with Selco's employees over the 14 months of their apprenticeship. Throughout the programme, our experienced team of training specialists will be on-hand to offer information, advice and guidance each step of the way. This will be a new challenge for the employees, but one which can lead to a long and successful career.”

For more information on Interserve Learning & Employment visit www.learning-employment.com.

A bold new initiative designed to provide staff members with new career opportunities and address the shortage of HGV drivers has been devised by Selco.

Selco Builders Warehouse has continued its rapid growth and investment by announcing the opening of an “historic” Lightside Distribution Centre.

We have exchanged contracts and begun work our new 60,000 sq ft centre, which is based in Cowley in Oxford and will service all 66 branches across England and Wales when it officially opens in January 2020.

Materials and products from more than 100 suppliers will be housed at the new centre - for which Selco has entered a partnership with supply chain specialists Unipart Logistics - and delivered to branches on a daily basis.

Howard Luft, Selco Builders Warehouse chief executive, said: “We are more determined than ever to continue the growth of Selco and taken it from strength to strength. “With that in mind, this is a historic development for us as a business and one which will bring huge benefits to our customers, including cost savings.

“We have always been proud of the stock availability we have had in branches but this development will enhance that still further.

“Geographically, Oxford is a very central location for our entire branch network and means we can get requested stock into our branches in a very short space of time.

“The large warehouse space we have at our disposal will also enable us to purchase products in greater quantity, savings which we will be passing on to our valued customers.”

The latest investment comes on the back of Selco doubling the size of its branch network over the last five years, opening a new delivery hub to service London branches in Edmonton and the installation of LED lighting across the branch network.