BPT announces new boss

Birchwood Price Tools has unveiled Matt Hunt as its new Managing Director.

 

Matt, 42, has joined the Nottingham-based workwear, tools and site equipment business from Rexel, where he was MD for electrical wholesalers WF Senate.

His arrival will signal a new focus and direction for BPT’s market-leading brands Scruffs workwear, Defender lighting and power distribution, Van Vault security solutions and Rhino heating, cooling and drying.

The new boss is already investing in customer and end user insight to help him shape the look and feel of BPT’s ranges and service proposition going forward, in order to provide a complete solution to merchants and retailers.

Matt has a strong retail and merchant background, having previously worked at Saint Gobain for its Gibbs & Dandy brand, and intends to bring this knowledge of merchanting and retailing needs to the supplier side, in his new role, to make BPT brands and products a ‘must stock’.

One of his first actions has been to introduce a multi-brand CRM system to BPT for the first time, to capture customer data across all the ranges in the one place. He insists this will be the first of many innovations introduced under his reign.

2017 will also see Matt spearhead the opening of a brand and innovation room at the BPT headquarters in Nottingham, to enable new product ranges, merchandising techniques and promotional solutions to be showcased to customers as they’re developed.

Matt says: “I’ve worked with many suppliers over the years, so I know what great looks like and the value they can add to the performance of a category.

“I’ve met all the staff here already and can see there is a vibrant, young, diverse workforce at BPT. We have some of the best brands and product ranges on the market – now I want us to be brilliant at what we’re currently good at. That means making our brands even better.

“What excites me is the potential to make a material impact – the big, game-changing stuff. We are known for our innovation and what sparks innovation is knowing customer needs and spotting the gap.

“I want to get the basics right and foster a culture of empowerment among all the staff that drives this creativity and best practice, not just in product development but the whole customer experience.

“I’d like us to be easy to do business with and fun to do business with. The brands all have great personality and I’m keen to build on that.

“Being part of the Travis Perkins group is also very important to me, with the values of the group aligning very closely to my own way of living and working. I place a lot of store in authenticity, family values, treating customers well and making decent returns.”

Matt lives in Stratford Upon Avon with wife Sharon and their two daughters. Away from work, he is a keen golfer and rugby union and football fan.