Removal firm offers cruise to customers to halt sales decline

Published on Monday 29 September 2008 09:58

A REMOVAL firm based in the Lothians is offering a free cruise to every customer in an attempt to halt a sharp decline in sales.

Crown Movers, based in Midlothian, has seen levels of custom drop by 65-75 per cent because of the slowdown in the property market.

It has now invested more than 5000 in a new incentive scheme in a bid to win more of the dwindling market by offering customers a range of cruises to France and Spain.

It is one of several removal firms in the Capital to have seen sales slump.

The National Guild of Removals and Storers (NGRS) is saying that business for its member firms is down by at least 60 per cent on average.

Crown Movers, which is based in the Pentland Industrial Estate in Loanhead, is hoping that the offer, which comes after a link-up between the NGRS and Britannia Ferries, can help to boost flagging sales.

David Adams, owner of Crown Movers, said: "It is the way of the world right now that you just have to do things like this.

"It used to be that if you offered a good price and did a good job you'd get the business but that is not happening anymore. Now we have got to go that little bit extra because of the way of the market.

"Being a family business, our overheads are tight anyway but it's at times like this that you have to look inwards and try to cut costs.

"A lot of other companies have had to make people redundant but we've not had to do that so far. We just want to dig in and get through this and hopefully things will pick up soon when the market improves."

He said that, while his 12 staff used to do 30 residential removals a week, now they rarely have more than ten.

GB Liners, which has a branch in Leith, said it is getting only between six and eight residential sales appointments a week now, compared to an average of 15 a year ago.

It has already had to make one of its eight staff redundant and is focussing on other areas, including the business market international removals, decluttering and storage, to plug the gap.

Colin Burnett, acting manager at the firm's Leith branch, said: "There is a decline generally and we have to look to other areas. We are hoping demand will build up and give us back our bread and butter business but at the moment we've got to focus more on other areas."

Martin Rose, director of the NGRS, said: "The removals industry was one of the first to be hit by the collapse of the housing industry.

"We reckon domestic removals industry is down 60-65 per cent compared with one year ago.

"We can't make people move but we can help members get business from those who are moving."