Retailer Spotlight: How Seacroft Mobility is riding the wave of opportunity
East England mobility retailer Seacroft Mobility has been busy opening up two new branches simultaneously recently. Both boasting a fresh, modern look, Daniel Swain, Director of Seacroft Mobility, has been telling THIIS of his plans to roll out the style to his other seven stores across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire…
Based in Skegness, Lincolnshire, Seacroft Mobility is a family-run business which has been providing products for mobility and personal care for over 25 years.
Fast taking over the eastern part of England with stores in Skegness, Boston, Ingoldmells, Lincoln, Nottingham, Mablethorpe and Spalding, the business recently added two new stores in the Lincolnshire market town of Grantham and in the Norfolk port town of Kings Lynn.
Dan Swain, the Director of Seacroft Mobility, purchased the business in 2008. At that time the business consisted of four shops in Lincolnshire. As Dan recalls, it was a profitable but small business, with lots of scope for growth.
He commented: “As a family we have extensive experience of running businesses. We had never worked within the mobility sector but when we took over the business, we were lucky to have an experienced staff group who were able to work with us to grow the Seacroft brand.
“We are proud to say that many of those staff are still with us and we are looking forward to celebrating 30 years of Seacroft Mobility next year.”
New stores
Seacroft Mobility has nine shops covering Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with its two of these opening in Grantham and Kings Lynn.
Explaining his decision to open up in these two areas, Dan explains: “We already had a well-established branch in Arnold, Nottingham, and as such, Grantham falls in between our Lincoln and Nottingham branches. We had a strong Motability presence in Grantham and felt that a bricks and mortar store would be beneficial to our customers.
It was a similar story with the Kings Lynn store, which already had a strong Motability presence both in the town and surrounding area. Dan adds: “We had intended to open a branch in Kings Lynn for a number of years but were halted by lockdowns and a lack of suitable premises.”
In fact, the new Kings Lynn branch is Seacroft Mobility’s largest store at 200 square metres and is located in a prime position on Kings Lynn High Street.
Dan adds: “It is our intention for our Kings Lynn branch to become our specialist wheelchair hub. With having the space, we will be able to offer a range of prescription-built manual wheelchairs.
“We are in the process of providing comprehensive staff training.”
Dan remarks that both of its new stores have been remodelled with a new fresh and modern style. He explains: “We have removed desks in favour of customer seating and compact sales units creating a more welcoming environment for our customers. Seacroft has always welcomed people in for a chat and a cuppa and we wish to continue that but with extra space and comfort.
“Both branches have large ‘cosy corners’, a specialist seating area where customers can try out different seating options at their leisure.”
Dan is thrilled with the results and says that it is the business’s intention to roll out its new look across its remaining seven branches.
Already the response to both stores has been very positive. The Kings Lynn branch, Dan says, is located on a busy High Street so it has a lot of customers popping in to have a look.
At the Grantham branch the demographic is similar to Seacroft Mobility’s other branches, which are seaside resorts and tend to be busier in the summer months. It is, however, very early days with both branches.
Bestselling products
Talking about the bestselling products at Seacroft Mobility, Dan explains that this really depends on time of year.
He comments: “Because of the seasonal aspect to our business and our strong presence in seaside resorts, car-portable scooters are always a strong seller for us during the summer months. During the winter months we see an upturn in 8mph mobility scooter and rise and recline chair sales.”
Earlier this year Dan explains that Seacroft Mobility partnered with Motion Healthcare, as the mobility equipment supplier’s emphasis on lightweight travel scooters sat well with its own customer base.
Dan adds: “This has proved advantageous for both parties, seeing sales increase exponentially. “We continue to grow our prescription built powerchair offering, having mobile specialists available in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.”
With family values and customer care at the heart of its operations, Seacroft Mobility has a centralised warehouse and repair centre in Skegness alongside mobile engineers to ensure that it can respond quickly to customer needs.
Dan add: “We have a team of administrative and management staff offering back-office support to our retail branches and ensuring that customer needs are responded to swiftly and efficiently.”
The business also happen to operate the largest mobility hire fleet in the country and is proud to partner with Butlins Skegness, seeing to the holiday camp’s mobility hire needs.
Going from strength-to-strength
Dan explains that he feels “strong and optimistic” moving into 2023, while ever mindful of changes in the economy and the energy crisis. “We are more aware than ever that strategic management is key,” he says.
During the Covid pandemic, Seacroft Mobility closed its branches but continued to work behind the scenes to ensure none of its customers were stuck or without support.
Dan explains: “The changes we made to our working practices at that time led to the origins of our Mobile Engineer service, which has gone from strength-to-strength and continues to grow. We are currently recruiting for a mobile engineer in the South Lincolnshire and North Norfolk area.”
Despite the setbacks of the pandemic, Dan explains that it did give him some opportunity to make changes to its business which have subsequently resulted in 2022 being its “best year ever”.
Taking a wider view of the mobility sector and the cost-of-living crisis, Dan adds: “As a business we need to continue to offer the highest quality products at the most affordable prices.”
Apart from that, Dan says that it is his intention to continue to expand the business into other areas. He finishes: “We are an ambitious team working hard to provide the best for our customers and staff and are always open to new opportunities to grow.”
