Kent’s putting the ‘H’ in Hardware
When David Kent was offered the opportunity to buy a local hardware business 31 years’ ago, he stewed on it for about three months before deciding to take the plunge.
Having started his career at B.G Deins in Peisley Street, David had worked his way up through all aspects of the timber and hardware business. He was looking for a new adventure, but still he hesitated before taking that leap into buying his own business.
“Then I said to my wife Joan ‘well we’re young enough, let’s bite the bullet and do it! If we get in trouble, we’re young enough to get out of trouble!’ So that’s where it started,” said David, who has grown the business from a small corner hardware store to a large trade supplier with around 24 staff and a key player in a national buying group.
“We were founding members of HBT which is Hardware and Building Traders, a buying group,” said David, recalling how a group of dissatisfied store owners decided to take matters in their own hands.
“We were a Home Hardware store, but they weren’t going down the avenue we were going — we didn’t want pots and pans, cups and saucers and these sorts of things — we do retail, but trade is our main focus,” said David.
“We were at a conference and we left pretty disappointed and half a dozen of us went across to the pub and had a discussion about it. One person said, ‘how hard would it be to run one of these buying groups?’
“And that’s how it kicked off. There were six of us, then nine stores and now there are 750 plus stores Australia Wide!”
Kent’s and other members of the Hardware and Building Traders buying group have begun rebranding under the H Hardware name, to give a unified look to the group, but each store remains completely independent.
After several decades in the hardware game, David is taking a step back and has handed over the running to his son Brendan who joined the business eight years ago.
“I’d asked him some time ago if he’d be interested, it wasn’t the right timing then, but eventually he saw the light,” laughs David.
Brendan spent 13 years as a builder before following his father into the hardware game, starting out in the timber yard, doing deliveries to now running the ever-expanding business.
Kent’s have just bought the Molong Home Hardware store, which will soon bear the H Hardware name.
“Sometimes you miss being out in the yard, when you’re in the office, but I really enjoy all sides of it,” said Brendan.
“I think you have to love what you do and I certainly do, I enjoy coming to work. There is a great bunch of people here. We all have a good time— we get the job done, but if we can have a bit of a joke and some fun while we do it, we intend to.
“But our first priority is service, we’ve got our loyal customers and we make sure they get looked after.”
Deliveries are a big part of Kent’s service. Their three trucks and delivery utes can be found carting building supplies as far as Wellington, Parkes, Blayney, Cowra and even Bathurst
“Some of our customers from Bathurst ask us to open a store there, but no way!” said Brendan, who says people come to them because they are willing to do whatever they can to get customers what they need.
“We can’t stock everything, there’s just too much available, but we’ll order anything in for our customers… we’ll try our hardest to get a price and get it in whereas some of our competitors will just say no. So, I guess that's where we are different, our service.”
As well as opening their new Molong Store, and continually updating their showroom with the latest kitchen and bathroom trends, Kent’s have plans to further expand their warehouse on Dalton Street.
“Everyone always needs building materials, especially in Orange!” said Brendan.
“A year or two ago I was saying it’s got to slow down, it just can’t keep getting busier each year, but then Dad reminded us that he’s been saying that for 30 years!
“Hopefully I can keep this going for another 30 or 40 years, I can’t see why not.”
151 Dalton Street
(02) 63627011
www.kentshh.com.au