Selling the Timpson Philosophy

For James Timpson the acquisition of the Persil Services was a further move in expanding the Timpson brand and its range of services rather than simply acquiring a laundry and drycleaning business.

“We wanted to grow,” he says and explains that the supermarket stores, where the Persil Services’ shops were based, provided a good place to expand the outlets. He adds that the Timpson company has a good track record for turning round troubled businesses.

The list of acquisitions includes Sketchley and Supasnaps, which were sold in 2004. Timpson says he did well out of that acquisition. “We kept the profitable stores, sold the unprofitable ones. The deal brought us the Minit UK business which has done well and has many freeholds and tax losses.

This latest acquisition will be turned round by converting it to the Timpson culture – one based firmly on “multiservicing” by building the range of services on offer.

The additional business will strengthen the Timpson offer by adding drycleaning, laundry and photography to the standard list, which includes shoe repair, jewellery, watch repairs, and key cutting. The business already had some stores offering drycleaning and laundry services. Now it has more and these stores will be run on the same lines as the others.

The shops will be all be converted to the group style. Three have already been refurbished and the refits will be finished by March next year.

“You employ good people, with lots of personality, give them lots of training, let them get on with it, and look after them well,” says Timpson. “We offer lots of incentives and benefits.”

He adds: “We’ve been voted the top employer in Europe three times and been listed in the Sunday Times’ top five employers.”

Some believe that you cannot expect one person to handle a wide range of services, but James Timpson knows that you can do this if you employ the right people and train them well.

He is not interested in “marketing” and is not aiming at a particular sector. Pricing will be “the same as everyone else – middle-level.”

He is interested in providing the service the customer wants. The drycleaning/laundry service is offered on a same-day basis, and he is extending the number of production shops.

The aim is, as in the other lines, to offer a good standard service. “We do the basics well because we have the best people and train them thoroughly,”says Timpson.

But the key to success in Timpson’s terms is focussing not on one or two services, but on a full range.

While the laundry side seems to be growing, he stresses that the future lies in providing more services. Asked about the future of the laundry and drycleaning sector, he says the future lies in diversification.

He adds that: “If you’re a good cleaner you’ll do that to a good standard, but if you want to grow the business and get more money, you’ll offer more services.”