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Paul Brook didn’t know how much everyone loved his shop – until he issued a desperate SOS
The owner of a cherished family-run hardware shop in Exeter says he has been overwhelmed by public support since issuing a desperate SOS message to customers. Paul Brook, of Brook’s Basics, feared he might have had to close the store he set up with his father 25 years ago due to cost increases and crippling roadworks around Alphington keeping customers away.
He penned an online letter to customers vowing not give in and saying he hoped hard work, honesty and ‘a little luck’ would help the business on Marsh Barton weather the storm. He thanked his customers and asked only that they share his Facebook post.
To his amazement the post gathered 125,000 views times and was shared 500 times. Interest in the shop has soared and, most importantly of all, customers have been flooding back. For the first time for quite a while he is free of sleepless nights and his finances are out of the red.
“Since that post I put out last week I have been knocked off my feet,” he says. “I’m totally taken aback. I’m trembling now thinking about it.”
Just over a week ago the future of Brook’s Basics seemed bleak. The shop is tucked away behind Alphington Road in Bakers Yard, where a collection of 20 or so independent business have been operating for decades.
Brook’s Basics sells everything from garden products, screws, nails and paints to kitchen utensils and clothing. Its strength is that customers can buy as much or as little as they like, even if it’s a handful of nails to hang pictures. It sets the shop apart from giants like B&Q.
But Paul acknowledges the business model is also the shop’s downfall. He said in his letter: “Supplying as many lines as we do means that we need a constant income from sales to maintain them.
“When we only sell ‘a couple of screws’ or ‘the odd nut and bolt’ it restricts us from being able to keep the levels up.”
He set out the stark reality to customers. “In recent months with roadworks all over Marsh Barton and Exeter in general along with higher costs for all, the number of people coming through the door has dropped dramatically (who wants to sit in traffic for an hour and cover just a couple of miles).”
He said income was significantly reduced and the situation ‘close to untenable’.
Paul’s words echoed similar comments about roadworks made recently by businesses in Exeter. One local pub landlord said he’d endured his worst ever day’s trade.
But Paul’s post seems to have struck a chord with the public because of its positive tone. He didn’t blame anyone or make the usual ‘use it or lose it’ demand. He said he would knuckle down, open the shop for longer on Saturdays, double his efforts on Facebook and rely on back to basics word-of-mouth.
“I’m not giving up,” he wrote. “We will pull through this, all I am asking from you is that when I send out a post, if you like it, please, please share it.”
The post generated massive interest and positive feedback and the shop now has almost 1,000 followers on Facebook.
“This is making me feel really humble,” he says. “Thank you for continuing support. I could never have made it without each and every one of you.”
Many people have left comments below Paul’s original post saying how much they value his shop.
One said: “What a fantastic shop. I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago. It’s amazing what they sell, a bit like the old Ottons hardware store that used to be in Fore Street.”
Another said: “As a keen diy-er I find Brooks Basics far from just basic. Everything I need under one roof and so competitively priced too, compared to the “big sheds”.
A third added: “Great shop, far better going there than to the nationals and having to buy in bulk then throwing away anything unused.”
And finally: “I always use Brook’s Basics and recommend it to friends, however it is amazing how many people do not know it exists, let alone what it sells. Great people, great shop we must not lose it.”
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