Partner Article

Behind the business with Grono

Grono is a Manchester-based supplier of artificial grass to landscapers, builders and homeowners. The firm specialises in supplying the highest quality artificial grass which it sells through Jewson and independently to landscapers.Managing director, Lionel Gilmartin, took Bdaily behind the business to find out more.

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

The biggest challenge for us has been funding. The banks won’t lend without huge amounts of security and even though we’ve grown and increased turnover, they’ve refused to grow with us.

When I started the business in 2008 it was financed through my pension and money from friends. The recession was then beginning to bite so I knew approaching the banks was futile. I approached them in 2011 after I signed a deal to be the sole supplier for Jewson and was hit with a straight no from all of them.

I needed the capital investment to purchase more stock, take on additional members of staff and fulfil the regular orders I was getting. Funding from the banks still continues to be a struggle.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

Without doubt out biggest achievement has been continuing to expand without the support of the banks.

We’ve achieved this by establishing a line of credit with our Chinese suppliers. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

After we were turned down by the banks, I approached our supplier to see if there was some way they could support us. The response was very different to the one from the UK banks.

They recognised that getting into Jewson, a nationwide stockist, was a big step for us and agreed a payment holiday of 60 days. In the last 12 months, as we’ve grown, that credit facility has been increased to 120 days up to the value of $300,000.

What is your most important focus for the coming year and what do you hope to achieve?

Our aim is to increase our market share. We really want to grab the number one spot for artificial grass supply in the UK. Artificial grass has come a long way from the astro-turf we all remember as kids. When customers see our grass they’re always amazed by its quality and won over by it durability.

We’ve added two new products to our range this year which we think with give us the edge over our competitors. Our new Premier Plus range includes the 30mm and 40mm grass. As with all our products, both are hard wearing, UV stable so they won’t fade in the sun and maintenance free. They join our popular Premier range.

What excites you most about your industry and business?

The fact that you never know what is coming! You could get £2,000 in orders one day and then £10,000 the next day. There really is no pattern to when people will purchase this product, although the bad weather has certainly helped boost sales.

The product itself is exciting, it’s different, it’s up and coming and it’s outside the box. We are also excited and reassured when we hear comments of customers who rate the quality of the product and appreciate it is the best in the market.

What do you wish you’d known when starting out?

How difficult the banks were going to be in terms of funding. I always knew it would be hard setting up when I did in 2008 but didn’t anticipate them still being unwilling to lend when I’d proved there was a market for the product. Had I not been able to secure the credit facility with our suppliers, then I doubt the business would still be here.

What will be the ’next big thing’ in your industry and how do you plan to handle it?

Tricky question as I’m not sure if I can discuss that one! It’s under wraps for now but let’s just say it’s another up and coming product for the home that nobody knows they want yet. Watch this space!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .