Clarkes of Walsham: 115 Years of Innovative Suffolk Enterprise

Clarkes of Walsham are one of the largest independent suppliers of Building, Farming and Garden Materials in East Anglia, and fast becoming the number one outlet for Cartridge and Shooting Accessories in East Anglia and beyond. As a family run, independent business, Clarkes pride themselves on offering a personal service that is valued by both trade and counter customers alike. Here we catch up with Richard Balls, Managing Director and driving force behind this innovative Suffolk enterprise…

How long have you been established for & what’s the history of your business?

Clarkes was founded 115 years ago in 1908, by Horace F. Clarke. Horace was the son of a well-known auctioneer and took over his father’s business in the early 1900’s. The auctioning of agricultural requisites led to him establishing a timber yard, which after the First World War had become a builders’ merchant, called Horace F. Clarkes and in 1954 was made a limited company. Still a family business, four generations of the Clarke family have been actively involved in the business which occupies discreet 10-acre premises in the unspoilt village of Walsham-le-Willows. Barry Clarke, head of the Clarke family and Horace’s son was born in London but evacuated to Walsham- le-Willows during the 2nd World War at the age of two. After he left Walsham primary school, he joined his father selling to local farmers. Clarkes of Walsham have been serving the building & agricultural trades and more recently the public. As a family run, independent business, Clarkes of Walsham pride themselves on offering a personal service that is valued by both trade and counter customers alike. We started off employing 5 people and this has grown to around 86 staff today and continues to expand.

Clarkes timber yard in 1908

Tell us about your background with the business and how you got involved?

In 1983 I was working at an Accountancy Firm in which Clarkes were one of the main clients. I have been involved with the business since then, as I used to come in to conduct audits. I started at Clarkes in August 2000 as Company Accountant, and have since progressed to Company Secretary, Finance Director and finally to my current role of Managing Director.

How has the business changed over the past 10 years?

If you were to see Clarkes 10 years ago it would be unrecognisable. The business has been modernised throughout, as customer’s needs are continually changing and evolving. Historically, Clarkes would have been aimed more towards Farming and Agriculture. However, in recent years we have made it our mission to become more retail based with the development of our on-site stores, we feel this comes hand-in hand with maintaining our excellent customer service reputation.

What’s happening in the business at the moment?

A recent business venture that stands out is the expansion of our site to Summer Road, our new Aggregates Centre. Here we offer an extensive selection of loose and bagged products for both trade and public use. This introduced a new service, where loose aggregate is now available for collection.

It would be difficult to pinpoint individual milestones to share with you. Our products and services base are continuously evolving, particularly in our Customer Sales and Trade Counter. A lot of effort has been made by staff to extend the product range for our customers as well as making the shopping experience smoother, this meant completely revamping the layout of the store. This has progressed massively throughout the last few months.

How has the last few years impacted the business?

Clarkes were very fortunate during Covid with the sector we work in, and we remained open throughout. I would say that we came out of the other side of Covid in a much better position than we could ever have imagined. We were then able invest more into modernising the company and getting it to where it is now.

What are your biggest challenges now?

I would say the biggest challenge everybody faces at the moment is the cost-of-living crisis. The rising cost of everything has a huge impact on the customer’s confidence in where they can spend money. Clarkes are quite fortunate though to have built a strong and loyal customer base over the years particular with SME’s in the building sector.

Who is your inspiration in business?

When I was starting out in my career I was always inspired by the Owners, SEO’s and Managing Directors of the companies I was conducting audits for. I saw their achievements as somewhere I wanted to get to one day. I have maintained relationships with those people and still keep in contact with them now to discuss business. Barry’s inspiration in the family was certainly his father and working for such a long-established business keeps me driven and inspired every day.

If you could do it all again, what would you do differently?

I am proud of what the company has achieved in the last 3 years that I have been Managing Director and I wouldn’t change anything.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

I enjoy coming in to work as I love my job, the company, and the staff. I find myself enthusiastic and motivated for the day ahead.

What has been your proudest moment?

It’s difficult to define one moment that has made me the proudest. I feel a sense of pride every time I cross the bridge onto the site and see the business running efficiently. I am proud of the exceptional customer service we offer and the way we treat our customers.

On top of all the long-term loyal staff we have here at Clarkes I also feel a sense of pride that we are able to employ the younger generation and they hold the same proactive mentality whilst offering fresh ideas to the business.

Barry Clarke, would also add that his proudest moment would be when his uncle sadly passed, and he was to buy the widows share of the business so the Clarkes family had full ownership.

What are your plans for future?

The plan is to continue to grow and modernise the business and empower the staff within the company. At Clarkes we always want to ensure we maintain the family values whilst adopting the corporate mentality that you need to run a business in the 21st century.

Clarkes is a great place for people to work. Nobody is a number here, we are all treated as equals and everybody knows each other. We would like to say that we are very fortunate to have such excellent staff to assist the progress of the company.

We have 86 members of staff currently, some of which have been working at Clarkes for over 30 years. We recently had a staff member retire after 48 years of service.

When and how did you begin working with Witham Group?

We have been a loyal customer to Witham Oil for 33 years.  In the mid-1990s Witham Oil and Grease Ltd bought United Paints in Lowestoft, before this our Agricultural and Industrial paints were supplied by Signpost Paints of Haverhill, Signpost after two takeovers were absorbed into Akzo Nobel who discontinued some lines which our customers needed, therefore the change to the Witham Group was made easier because the excellent representative Brian Taylor who we had known since 1975 decided to work for Witham Oil and Paint and with his help we expanded the range to take in Oil as well as our paint requirements.

Witham supply to us a range of paints and oils to cater to our agricultural and trade customers for the use of general and tractor maintenance. This includes but is not limited to; Wood Primer, Barn Paint, Undercoat, Supercoat and Floor Paint and a whole range of Lubricants.

Over the years we have built up a loyal relationship with Witham and can only but praise the service they deliver. The products are always great quality, the paperwork trail is excellent, delivery is always prompt and without issue.

Important qualities to define a great supplier to us, would include quality products, stock availability and an attentive supplier that cares about the products and customer. Witham provides all these as well as a great relationship and fun together at the Norfolk Show!