Offering More Than Any Superstore

When walking down Broadway in lower Manhattan with a friend recently; we got to talking about how there were a multitude of small, family-owned businesses situated on all the blocks we passed through - adding colour and a sense of character to each neighbourhood. While happily agreeing that such a thriving small business sector undoubtedly benefited the New York economy, my friend began to lament the fact that the big superstores in the UK had been successful at driving many British small retailers out of business.

So when I popped into SISI Hardware & DIY the other day I was interested to learn how they fare in what must be one of the most competitive market sectors in the country. SISI Hardware & DIY has sat on the junction between Aldensley Road and Brackenbury Road in Hammersmith for twenty three years. It’s run by Bachu Patel and Kiran Patel. Bachu’s explanation to how they compete is insightful “We sell goods people need rather than what we can push onto them." he said. Adding "People tell me that they go into a big DIY store for a couple of nails and come out with lots of other stuff they didn’t really want. There’s no highly sophisticated marketing techniques designed to make you buy more and more behind us. We stock relevant products at fair prices and we deal with people honestly. We find that works”.

It does work and along with the dozen or so other businesses on that junction, SISI has given that part of Hammersmith a quality and character that can’t be replicated by any superstore.

You can phone SISI Hardware & DIY on 020 8741 5463. They’re open for business seven days a week.