A Kärcher dealer for almost 25 years, Craigmore has experienced significant growth over the last two years and identified the potential of a dedicated Belfast Center to capitalise on the growing demand for Kärcher products. The in-store and online sales potential for the new showroom is around £1 million annually with exports to RoI representing a significant proportion.
Geoff Baird, Founder and Managing Director with Craigmore explains,
“This showroom is the first of its kind in the Kärcher network and represents the Gold Standard for our fellow distributors, with bespoke innovative software and hardware solutions to assist in the sales process as well as back end information gathering and sharing. Our location on the Boucher Road gives us access to the greatest concentration of potential customers with a dedicated site to service our all-Ireland customer base.”
Offering the full range of products for home and garden, professional, industrial, spares and accessories, this Kärcher “center of the future” has been designed to revolutionise customers’ expectations by offering an experience more akin to a high end car showroom, with a 900-shrub living wall featuring the Kärcher irrigation system, refreshments from Nespresso and Hotel Chocolat and an 9 screen LCD wall demonstrating the Kärcher portfolio of cleaning solutions.
“We currently supply Kärcher cleaning equipment to all sectors of businesses including haulage, car dealerships, car valeting shops, engineering, food, retail and hospitality, offering everything from £100 vacuums up to £75,000 bespoke cleaning systems or multiple machine installations,” says Geoff, “but this new showroom has been tailored to maximise appeal among domestic customers who will feel more comfortable shopping in the engaging environment we have created.”
Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Nuala McAllister said: “I’m delighted to see further investment in the city because with that brings jobs creation and a boost to the local economy.
“This new business is the first success story to come from the council’s City for Investment Service which provides a ‘soft landing’ for businesses to tap into council networks and get marketing, employability and skills support.
“Through this new service we will proactively work with investors, providing the professional and personal connections to help them do business in our city successfully. I, and each one of the elected members for Belfast City Council, are committed to continuing this work to deliver our ambitions for the city and our Belfast Agenda.”
A significant element of the £300K investment has been the development of a bespoke suite of software and hardware that completely integrates the sales and business functions to maximise customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies. Kärcher UK Chief Operating Officer, Mark Venner explains,
“The new system includes a Click and Collect app for customers which allows interaction between the store customers before, during and after the sale while tablet based software empowers staff to give the best customer service possible in-store and post transaction. In addition, the order management software for click and collect and repair requests allows front of house staff and those in the warehouse to communicate in real time, minimising any delays whilst integration codes enable all software within the new system to communicate and exchange data on everything from stock levels, availability and pricing,” said Mark.
The Kärcher Center Belfast will be open from 8.30am to 6pm, 6 days a week and will have specially trained Kärcher experts on site to explain and demonstrate the full product range. For further information, go to www.karchercenterbelfast.com
(L-R) Mark Venner, Chief Operations Officer at Kärcher UK, Lord Mayor of Belfast Cllr Nuala McAllister and Geoff Baird MD of Craigmore and Kärcher Center Belfast.
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