Formula One

The company promises to "revolutionise the supply and purchasing habits of the electrical contracting industry" and is so sure that it will succeed that it is predicting £100 million of business within five years.

The new venture is initially targeting the small to medium contractor working in the residential and light commercial sector, a market currently worth £500 million to wholesalers according to One Electrical's md Mark Fairweather. The company aims to carve a 20% market share by offering a complete range of equipment at costs that will slash wholesalers' list prices by up to 50%.

One Electrical will distribute its own-brand products, manufactured in Germany and the Far East to British standards, on a next day delivery basis. "This market is very traditional and has not been as competitive as it could be," explains Mark Fairweather. "We believe it's time to bring it into the new millennium by introducing ways of working that more progressive industries have been using for some time." Fairweather is not new to the electrical market. He is an ex-employee of Schneider Electric and is joined on the board of One Electrical by two former directors of Schneider: John Veale as commercial director and David Hargreaves as chairman. This experience allows Fairweather to proclaim: "We believe that it is possible to offer electrical contractors a much more customer-oriented service and quality products at much lower prices than anyone else in the market." One Electrical's products will be available via a catalogue-based order service (mail/phone/fax) as well as the Internet. The company offers its next day delivery service on all orders placed before 5 pm and delivery is free for all orders over £150. As Fairweather points out, delivery is "absolutely key" and has kept the logistics operation in-house at a central Midlands location. One Electrical will carry complete ex-stock for all product ranges. Contractors will be offered account facilities, with 45 days credit and an initial discretionary limit of £2500.

We believe that it is possible to offer electrical contractors a much more customer-oriented service and quality products at much lower prices than anyone else in the market

Mark Fairweather

The company predicts that only around 10% of business will be conducted on-line in the first year, but expects this to grow over time. Contractors ordering via the Net will get a further 3% discount as well as benefiting from special offers only available on-line.

Contractors must be wondering 'what is the catch?'. Cheap prices, guaranteed next-day delivery, surely the quality must be suspect? The company's pre-launch research not surprisingly identified price, product quality and delivery as the key purchasing priorities and Fairweather boldly states: "We intend to achieve 20% market share in five years by supplying the best products, at the best prices, backed by the most reliable and outstanding service." As to the question of product quality, One Electrical promises a range fully compliant to British safety and quality standards, with all products third party tested by the likes of Asta.