Toolstation

[Dave Plowman (News)]

A Toolstation has opened inside the local (Wimbledon) branch of Wicks. Very convenient - an easy 10 minute drive with plenty parking unlike the next nearest one in Merton.

But a lot of stuff they sell is often sold by Wicks too. With Toolstation considerably cheaper.

One example - a twin pack of basic battery smoke alarms. They appear to be identical, and conform to the same BS.

Wicks 10.49 TS 7.97

Now with TS, am assistant gets the bits you want then takes your money. With Wicks, you pick them yourself and pay at a checkout.

They share the same building, so overheads are the same?

So wondered just how they work out pricing. ;-)

Of course TS may well have a much bigger turnover - but then so would Wicks with competitive prices?

[michael adams]

One variable might be the number of lines and total stock each branch carries as measured against the total square footage they each occupy for tools, hardware, paint, sundries ,plumbing, and electrical etc. Toolstation being in bins and racking is probably stored at a much higher density than would be possible in a retail shed. I'm not sure whether things such as like heating costs are also relevant. Customers expect DIY sheds to be kept warm especially in winter. The amount of money they must pour down the drain just on keeping a few browsing customers and one of two staff lounging around on the tills warm in such a large space, makes it hard to see how they make any profit at all. Presumably the same doesn't apply to the Toolstation racks where the staff would simply be given coats.

michael adams

...

[charles]

and they're both part of the Travis Perkins group.

[Chris French]

In message , michael adams writes

The toolstation in our local Wickes, is just really one corner of teh store, with partitioning up to about 3m and opena bove that - I don't imagine they have their own heating or electrical services anyway.

I suspect the difference in price is partly the business overheads - eg. there is maybe 2-3 staff in the TS, lots more in the Wickes store, less stock handling etc. but also a 'because they can' and market segmentation element. And I know that they are both part of the Travis Perkins group but I don't know how integrated it all is.

This way they can pick up the customers who are willing to pay more in Wickes - don't want to bother going to the TS counter, have never looked and don't realise the price difference sometimes etc. and still pick up the customers who will go to the TS counter.

[cl]

Prices nowadays aren't set by the cost of the item. So the difference between Toolstation and Wickes on the same site just happens, each business sets its prices in the way that its business model dictates (or more likely at someone's guess/whim).

As long as the overall income is greater than the overall outgoings then the business works.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

There may be just 2 or three staff you can see in Toolstation - but I'll bet there are others behind the scenes. Deliveries have to be unloaded and sorted into the bins. Etc.

TP have always had an odd approach to pricing. If you ask for discount, you usually get it. But it seems to be at the whim of the salesman.

Perhaps when things settle down, Wicks may just sell the things TS doesn't.

[Andy Burns]

I presume they disregard the fact that some toolsatans are within Wickes, and just charge the same price as a standalone TS branch woul, otherwise they get all the complication of printing different catalogues and having different prices for web/bricks and mortar TS/TS within Wickes pricing, and Mr c*ck-up.

[The Medway Handyman]

When TS first started opening branches inside Wickes, I asked our local store manager about it. He said that he wouldn't care if they never sold another screw or wall plug, their turnover & margin was in bricks, type 1, cement, plasterboard, timber etc. e.g. heavyside stuff.

He also made the point that some customers (a)wouldn't be bothered to queue twice, (b) didn't want to buy say 200 screws, just a pack of 20 despite the price & (c) wanted to look & pick because they didn't know specifically what they wanted.

Last week I was in the local Wickes & it's undergoing a major refurb. I asked about the possibility of a TS branch and they said no, and added rather vaguely, about having a 'counter' that was 'much better'.

I asked how the TS branches inside Wickes were working out & they said 'it's working well for TS'.

Refurbed store opens on the 17th Feb, so that should be interesting.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Excellent way to go bankrupt, then.

[Mathew Newton]

Prices are dictated by the overheads across the business and are not adjusted per store. The Toolstation operating model allows for lower costs - smaller branch footprint, fewer staff, less diverse stock etc.

Whilst the overheads might be higher in this particular store doesn't mean they increase the price as you pay the same nationwide.

[cl]

... but you cut the bit where I said:-

As long as the overall income is greater than the overall outgoings then the business works.

Lots of businesses (supermarkets included) sell some things at less than cost in order to get people in buying other stuff which has a big profit margin.

[Andy Burns]

clearly true.

The TP corporate site says both Wickes and Toolstation carry over 10,000 products ...

[Mathew Newton]

I meant diverse as in variation of product type and thus, for example, having fewer suppliers as a result.

[Chris French]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Well I imagine the unloading is done by the delivery driver (and mate maybe) but I reckon that the staff that are there do the sorting at as when.-

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you have two stores side by side selling identical products at different prices, which one survives?

Can you name any product a shed sells at less than cost? I can't.

BTW, the sheds don't charge the same at all branches. Or certainly didn't

- might be different now if they sell online.

The Homebase in Wandsworth - opposite a B&Q - had different prices from their Wimbledon branch.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Perhaps. But it's not just screws that Toolstation sells. Lots of crossover products like plumbing fittings, electrical, etc.

They want to look and pick a bag of cement? ;-) Wicks timber is among the worst I've seen. If I want timber I use a local timber yard - and not SP. ;-)

[Roger Mills]

Did you notice whether the packaging and bar codes were identical?

I've known Homebase and Argos (which were/are part of the same group) sell the same thing at different prices (though, not under the same roof) - but they use different catalogue numbers.

[meow2222]

If price is too low, the business folds, adn the higher price store wins. If price is too high, the business folds, adn the lower price store wins. Its not a simple race to the bottom.

NT

[Huge]

My local Wicks now has an Argos/Screwfix style counter for small hardware items. You choose stuff out of a catalogue, write what you want on a slip and hand it to a pod person who fetches it from round the back. Takes three times as long as picking it off the shelf.

[The Medway Handyman]

Sounds like they might be doing that in Chatham. Is it cheaper?