You are in:
Freedom - The Outdoor Buying Group
STAG is very, very well known as a buying group for the sports retail trade, not so well known for its work in the outdoor arena. While the company has a perfectly reasonable number of outdoor stores (85 of a total of 460 members) under its wing, it's not even close to its reach in the sports industry. That's partly why joint MDs Ricky Chandler and Ward Robertson have rebranded their outdoor arm with a view to increasing their outdoor membership. They spoke with SGB Outdoor and explained the whys and wherefores...
SGB: So, have you've changed the name of the company?
Ward Robertson: No, we've just given an existing part of the business a different name. STAG Outdoor is now called Freedom; STAG Sport is still just that.
SGB: Does it work in exactly the same way?
Ricky Chandler: Yes, fundamentally. It gives us a focus for the Outdoor industry. Freedom is their buying group.
SGB: Why would it have lacked focus as it was, under the STAG banner?
RC: It's never lacked focus from us, we've always been focussed on the outdoor trade. But there's been perhaps a little reluctance from some members and suppliers to be associated with a sports buying group. Freedom is dedicated to outdoor retailers and members.
SGB: How will that work for you two? Does this create more work and change your roles?
WR: Not really, we're already doing all of this anyway. We've just changed the label and made it clearer for everyone. Our workload would grow if we took on a lot of new members; we've grown from 200 members six years ago to 460 and climbing all the time.
SGB: There's a lot of specialist manufacturers and distributors but there's also a lot of brands that have crossover. Who are you going to be working with to bring the best deals to your customers?
WR: People like Burton McCall, who distribute a lot of brands
RC: Coleman, Columbia, Gelert...
WR: Jack Wolfskin, Merrell, Timberland... To name a few. More than Half of HI-TEC's business is outdoor, they're now the second largest specialist outdoor footwear company in the world and they're one of our key suppliers.
The truth is, as you add two or three suppliers to the list of people you work with, people think "I'd like to join Freedom now, you've got suppliers that are really relevant to me and my business", and as the member list grows more suppliers come on board because it becomes more attractive to them. It's a moving feast, we're constantly building in the same way as we did in the sports trade.
SGB: What benefits do you bring a retailer in the outdoor trade?
WR: We do a few things; we help them increase their profits because we have pre-agreed discount levels with a large number of specialist brands.
We also help members cut their costs. With things like credit and debit card processing rates, a small business might pay... Well, if you spend £100 on your personal credit card and a smaller retailer is probably paying around 2 per cent. So that's £2 of their profits gone. For STAG, the rates we get are just over £1; For every £100,000 of turnover, rather than paying £2,000 to the card processor, they're paying £1,095 with us. So they save four-and-a-half times their annual membership fee with Freedom, just on that one little thing.
We've kept it simple because business is generally pretty complex, and everybody's really busy.
We don't act as a middle-man, nothing changes for the retailer. You buy in exactly the same way as you always have; it's so simple, it can be hard to grasp. You see your usual rep, or call the distributor, and buy what you want. We do the negotiation and the terms for them, but that's it.
RC: We can also help a member if they want to be introduced to a specific brand, if they want an account with a brand we can help with that process. Because we have good relationships with the brand, and they know that as a member of STAG you must be a good, reputable retailer, we can recommend you.
SGB: What's the reaction to this been like at OTS?
RC: It's been very very good. A lot of people have come up and been saying that there is a requirement, there is a need for an outdoor buying group for the independent. Once people found out that we are a part of STAG, they were fine with that because the STAG name is trusted and well known.
