Lined up nose-to-tail at TJ Morris' sprawling distribution centre at Gillmoss, Liverpool, are 14 Superlambananas. The quirky sculptures - part lamb, part banana - became the unofficial emblem of Liverpool during the city's European Capital of Culture celebrations. And now they're being drafted in to reinforce TJ Morris' Liverpudlian heritage as it embarks on the ambitious expansion of its discount chain fascia, Home Bargains.
Of the 17 the company bought for £250,000 at a charity auction, two are already out at stores while another takes pride of place in the centre's reception area. The remaining 14 won't be gathering dust in the warehouse for long - the company plans to send them out to new stores as and when they open.
"Superlambananas really capture the spirit of Liverpool," explains operations director, Joe Morris . "We want to share them and bring a piece of Liverpool to our store openings."
Despite the credit crunch, there are plenty on the cards for the purveyor of ambient food and drink, toys, household, health & beauty and seasonal items. Indeed, having last month reported a 14.4% increase in full-year operating profit to £34.7m on sales up 19% to £383m, it expects to more than double its existing portfolio of 170 stores and break through the £1bn sales mark by 2015. Next year, it could well leapfrog Farmfoods into second place in our Top 50 ranking of independent grocery retailers.
And it is Joe Morris who takes a good share of the credit for the company's success. While media-shy brother Tom is the brains behind Home Bargains, having opened the first store in Liverpool back in 1976, Joe is very much the face.
He nearly wasn't, though. Coming from two generations of shopkeepers and working in the family shop after school , he initially wanted to get as far away from retailing as possible. After university he spent 20 years travelling the world, working in robotic engineering. But in 2000, "fed up with the jet lag", he joined Tom and his other two brothers Ed (responsible for IT) and Anton (graphics) at the company.
It was a good time to get stuck in. There's been a major step change in its growth over the past decade, says Morris. "We've had organic growth for the past 18 years, but the major growth has been in the past 10 years," he says. "We had a good model that worked around Merseyside, so we thought why not export it. The further we took it, the better the reception."
Now, the model is about to be tested north of the border. The first Home Bargains store in Scotland is set to open later this year and Morris is also hoping to move into the Midlands and East Anglia at some point. The national expansion is being made possible by a dramatic expansion of TJ Morris' 350,000 sq ft distribution centre, which will increase its capacity from 17,000 to 60,000 pallets and take the height of shelving from 12m to 35m. Work is expected to be completed by early next year and will give TJ Morris the capacity to serve 600 stores.
The key to success is "keeping things simple", says Morris. The business model is appropriately stripped back. A typical Home Bargains store is 10,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The grocery to non-food split is 70:30 and stores sell mainly branded goods at low prices, although the company is slowly introducing a few own-label lines. To keep costs down, it doesn't sell fresh or froze n. Though it sells alcohol, it doesn't sell spirits because of security issues.
The simplicity ethos extends to its marketing tactics. When a new store opens, there's no advance advertising (the company doesn't even have a marketing department) or fanfare, though the Superlambananas will be putting in an appearance from now on. "It's all about what the customer wants," says Morris. "A pleasing environment for them to stay as long as possible, carry as much as they can to the till and get a quick, efficient service."
The company prides itself on the transparency and speed of its negotiations with suppliers, who it boasts don't need an appointment to get a face to face with a buyer. This sense of clarity is evident in the way it handles one-offs, which make up around 30% of its 3,000-line grocery offer. "One-offs are difficult to manage because they're changing all the time," admits Morris. "Manufacturers want to offload items for a whole host of reasons, but sometimes getting rid of products can cause confusion about where they are being sold. If they sell to us, they know where they are going. They deliver straight to our DC and we sell the products quickly in our stores. We'd like to think we're their outlet of choice."
Morris speaks with passion about his family business but he is also proud of the company's community work on Merseyside. This year, TJ Morris linked up with a local authority to launch a board game that teaches children how to run a business. It has also set up Go Create 08, an initiative to get the people of Merseyside creating art as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations.
But whether it's controlling stores or helping the community, Morris knows TJ Morris can't rest on its laurels. "My dad always said hard work is never easy. 'Top brands bottom prices' is easy to say, but difficult to deliver. How do you sell at the lowest price if everyone else is trying to do the same?" It may not be easy, but TJ Morris has clearly found a way.
Of the 17 the company bought for £250,000 at a charity auction, two are already out at stores while another takes pride of place in the centre's reception area. The remaining 14 won't be gathering dust in the warehouse for long - the company plans to send them out to new stores as and when they open.
"Superlambananas really capture the spirit of Liverpool," explains operations director, Joe Morris . "We want to share them and bring a piece of Liverpool to our store openings."
Despite the credit crunch, there are plenty on the cards for the purveyor of ambient food and drink, toys, household, health & beauty and seasonal items. Indeed, having last month reported a 14.4% increase in full-year operating profit to £34.7m on sales up 19% to £383m, it expects to more than double its existing portfolio of 170 stores and break through the £1bn sales mark by 2015. Next year, it could well leapfrog Farmfoods into second place in our Top 50 ranking of independent grocery retailers.
And it is Joe Morris who takes a good share of the credit for the company's success. While media-shy brother Tom is the brains behind Home Bargains, having opened the first store in Liverpool back in 1976, Joe is very much the face.
He nearly wasn't, though. Coming from two generations of shopkeepers and working in the family shop after school , he initially wanted to get as far away from retailing as possible. After university he spent 20 years travelling the world, working in robotic engineering. But in 2000, "fed up with the jet lag", he joined Tom and his other two brothers Ed (responsible for IT) and Anton (graphics) at the company.
It was a good time to get stuck in. There's been a major step change in its growth over the past decade, says Morris. "We've had organic growth for the past 18 years, but the major growth has been in the past 10 years," he says. "We had a good model that worked around Merseyside, so we thought why not export it. The further we took it, the better the reception."
Now, the model is about to be tested north of the border. The first Home Bargains store in Scotland is set to open later this year and Morris is also hoping to move into the Midlands and East Anglia at some point. The national expansion is being made possible by a dramatic expansion of TJ Morris' 350,000 sq ft distribution centre, which will increase its capacity from 17,000 to 60,000 pallets and take the height of shelving from 12m to 35m. Work is expected to be completed by early next year and will give TJ Morris the capacity to serve 600 stores.
The key to success is "keeping things simple", says Morris. The business model is appropriately stripped back. A typical Home Bargains store is 10,000 sq ft to 15,000 sq ft. The grocery to non-food split is 70:30 and stores sell mainly branded goods at low prices, although the company is slowly introducing a few own-label lines. To keep costs down, it doesn't sell fresh or froze n. Though it sells alcohol, it doesn't sell spirits because of security issues.
The simplicity ethos extends to its marketing tactics. When a new store opens, there's no advance advertising (the company doesn't even have a marketing department) or fanfare, though the Superlambananas will be putting in an appearance from now on. "It's all about what the customer wants," says Morris. "A pleasing environment for them to stay as long as possible, carry as much as they can to the till and get a quick, efficient service."
The company prides itself on the transparency and speed of its negotiations with suppliers, who it boasts don't need an appointment to get a face to face with a buyer. This sense of clarity is evident in the way it handles one-offs, which make up around 30% of its 3,000-line grocery offer. "One-offs are difficult to manage because they're changing all the time," admits Morris. "Manufacturers want to offload items for a whole host of reasons, but sometimes getting rid of products can cause confusion about where they are being sold. If they sell to us, they know where they are going. They deliver straight to our DC and we sell the products quickly in our stores. We'd like to think we're their outlet of choice."
Morris speaks with passion about his family business but he is also proud of the company's community work on Merseyside. This year, TJ Morris linked up with a local authority to launch a board game that teaches children how to run a business. It has also set up Go Create 08, an initiative to get the people of Merseyside creating art as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations.
But whether it's controlling stores or helping the community, Morris knows TJ Morris can't rest on its laurels. "My dad always said hard work is never easy. 'Top brands bottom prices' is easy to say, but difficult to deliver. How do you sell at the lowest price if everyone else is trying to do the same?" It may not be easy, but TJ Morris has clearly found a way.
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