02/01/2024
Morning all,
We have some news regarding the Chandlery side of our Business.
We started the Chandlery back in 2016 when we moved into our current office and workshop, as an addition to our core business which we have run successfully since 1997.
We were under no illusions that, due to the lure of ever larger online stores, the days of physical chandleries were numbered and only a handful of independent stores still survive.
However, we had hoped that with Sovereign Harbour being such a ‘local’ Marina, with a very limited availability for berth holders to purchase products easily and quickly in the area, that we may be able to make this work.
Over the 8 years we have been operating the Chandlery store, we have been slowly increasing our stock and range of products, being ever careful to concentrate on items that boat owners will need qu**ky to carry out works on the boat the same day, and therefore not buy online. We do however, as a “Chandlery”, have to stock a large range of staple items, from fenders to shackles, and handheld VHF radios to life jackets. To maintain stock at this level is expensive, and if the footfall through the shop is low, and stock is not moving, this does nothing but put pressure onto our primary business.
Over the 8 years we have been operating the Chandlery store, we have been very fortunate to have been supported by a number of very Loyal customers, who have purchased from the shop pretty much every week, and for this I am eternally grateful. However, this number of regular customers is simply not enough to sustain the chandlery given the high operational costs of the shop.
Last year we have tried to encourage a larger regular customer base in various ways, most recently, in September 2023, we launched our loyalty card scheme which gave customers both discounts on all shop stock, all labour services in the yard, and a points-based loyalty system which offered even further discounts by way of vouchers to spend in the store or on services in the boatyard.
We set up the shop on the Loyal App system and ordered our initial batch of 250 cards. Given that the prices under the scheme for ordering in from our wholesalers for next day delivery, were as cheap or even less than the online stores, we had assumed that take up of the scheme would be fairly high.
In reality, from a potential customer base of around 700 eligible boat owners, only 27 of the initial batch of cards have been given out in the following 3 months. Of these 27 customers, only 13 have made a shop purchase and been awarded any points.
I have to say, these results have been, in no small way, a tipping point in our difficult decision to close down the Chandlery side of the business. The shipwright, maintenance, repair and installation side of our business becomes ever busier year on year, and I am finding that the Chandlery has begun to absorb more and more of my time as we try to increase customer footfall.
However much I can see the very real benefits of having an onsite Chandlery in Sovereign Harbour, I cannot allow it to adversely affect our core business that we have been operating very successfully for some 27 years.
The closure of the Chandlery will NOT affect Tim Nicholls Yacht Services Ltd in any way. Our office & workshop will remain in the same great location within the boatyard, and we will continue to provide high quality repair, maintenance and installation services to both Sovereign Harbour berth holders and boat owners in the region. We will also continue to stock a small range of essential maintenance items that customers often need while working on their boats in the boatyard or on the marina, and we will continue to order in items for customers from our large range of wholesalers.
With all of the above in mind, we have decided to offer our current extensive stock to customers at a hugely discounted rate as we will need to clear the space our new office fit out.
As from today,
ALL CURRENT STOCK WILL BE DISCOUNTED BY 30% OF THE MARKED PRICES!
We will not be re-stocking so once it’s gone, it’s gone! With the maintenance season almost upon us, now’s the time to pick up your essential items in the shop.
We will be here as usual this week, from 10.30am – 4pm Monday to Thursday, 10.30am – 3pm Friday, and 10.30am – 2pm on Saturdays.
I would like to finish by offering my heartfelt & sincere thanks all of our Loyal customers who have supported the Chandlery over the past 8 years. I take heart in the knowledge that those of us who like to buy what we need in shops rather than on a screen are not completely extinct!
All the best for the new year & the coming boating season and hope to see you while grabbing a bargain in the shop very soon.
Thanks again.
Tim
