April the 18th 2013, a day that will live long in the memory here at ITS. Not only was it the day that the Festool road show came to our head office for the London leg of their European tour, but also we opened our second trade counter right here in Loughton. With the roadshow right round the corner we at ITS decided to double our efforts and really make a push to bring the opening of the counter forward so it would be ready for Festool. This was a daunting task owing to the fact that our trade counter didn’t currently have a front door and the fitters were booked in for the 16th just 2 days before the roadshow came to us.
Getting the counter up and running was a, backs against the wall job, with every member of staff helping out where possible to get it ready in time. Nothing was going to stop us from being ready; the overtime forms were filled in, lunches were put on hold and even collapsing mannequins didn’t dent the enthusiasm and drive of Kevin our MD.
It took dozens of products to be removed from stock , hundreds of photos to be taken and used to check displays and an innumerable amount of paper and ink used for printing prices and offers. But finally on Tuesday the 16th of April, the trade counter was.. almost ready, we still had no way for customers to actually enter, and I think you’ll agree that was an issue.
So on the morning of the 16th the shopfittes began work on the front door, and upon realisation that cutting through one foot of solid brick wall would create a bit of a mess we had to act, and act fast to keep our newly laid out shop floor clean and crisp. So a tent (of sorts) was erected to protect the brand new tool displays. Luckily we had a few tools out back just lying around… and some real good quality tarpaulin and tape. Throughout the day we heard hammering, drilling and a little bit of swearing, and our training room wasn’t even in use! The shopfitters made some real progress and were well ahead of schedule, and by close of play on Tuesday we had a door!
The next day we spent dismantling the tent, and adding the finishing touches; the power tool display cabinets looked great, the TVs were in place with shopping channel style videos on a loop and the warehouse team were primed and ready for orders on high!
So finally on Thursday the 18th 2013 ITS opened its doors to the public for the second time. Now you can visit stores in both Leyton and Loughton (easily confused, but apparently that’s not an excuse for being late to work!) So if you’re in the area come down and see our unique power tool displays, experiance a new kind of trade counter, and don’t forget your half price rewards!
See the Video below for a more artistic look at the creation of our Loughton power tool trade counter.