The county’s premier home lifestyle store – Bell of Northampton – has revealed its new look management team as it embarks on a year of exciting new developments.
The multi-channel store has welcomed Jamie Bedford as its new Kitchen, Bathroom and Tiles Manager and has also made a number of significant in-house promotions to draw on the decades of experience in its existing team.
Dave Richardson, who has worked for Bell for 24 years, joined the board of directors at the beginning of December. Responsible for both Bell’s logistics and the contracts side of its business – which generates 25% of its annual income – Dave had previously been one of the firm’s associate directors.
Richard Kingston has also stepped up to become a departmental director for its popular fires, stoves and outdoor living ranges. In addition, Richard is responsible for Bell’s e-commerce stream, which accounts for a further quarter of the firm’s revenue.
The experienced management team is completed by Managing Director Lee Ferris, Calor Gas Director Zen Hynda, who also oversees outdoor living with Richard, Financial Director Michael Barton and Installation Manager Mark Simmonds.
Lee Ferris said:
“We’re thrilled to have promoted both Dave and Richard. They have both played huge roles in Bell’s success over the years and bring so much valuable experience with them to their new positions. We were also delighted to welcome Jamie to our team at the end of last year. Jamie is in his 20s and had built up an impressive career in retail management with a major national retailer before joining our team. His retail management skills are already helping to further enhance the customer journey we offer to our kitchen, bathroom and
tile clients.“Under our new management structure, our managers are retaining their specialisms but they’re also being given a greater understanding of the business as a whole, so the entire organisation can benefit from their expertise. This is just one of the key ways in which we are investing in Bell’s future.”
Bell has given further clear signs that it is committed to investing in its future at its base in Kingsthorpe Road. Firstly, the organisation is halfway through a major project to renovate its iconic 100-year-old Northern
Lights roof.
This month it has also seen one of its concessions – CCE Landscaping – start work on creating an exciting new display area for customers next to Bell’s rear car park. The new addition will feature items from CCE’s popular landscaping and outdoor ranges, including garden rooms, artificial grass and associated products.
Bell also aims to unveil a new Contract Specifications Suite for its commercial customers this month. The new suite will help builders, property developers and architects to choose from Bell’s range of commercial fixtures and fittings for new developments across southern and central England.
The store is also investing in a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to further enhance the growing e-commerce side of its business.
Lee explained:
“Our online offering has been incredibly successful in the past few years and this sophisticated system will help us to continue to grow this part of our business. This new system combined with our new Contracts Specification Suite, the new outdoor display area and our new management team means we’re embarking on another exciting year in
Bell’s history.”
Bell of Northampton is located in Kingsthorpe Road, Northampton. To find out more, go to www.abell.co.uk
