Island Life Magazine Ltd April/May 2009 | Page 125

LOCAL BUSINESS
were able to jump ship.
It would be easy to say the rest is history,
but actually this was the start of the
evolutionary story. So how has Buywise,
one-time repairer of goods, formerly a
source of slightly marked goods, and now
a retailer of electrical goods and furniture
kept going against the might of the
multiples?
Well, Buywise is part of the biggest
buying group in Europe, so it can compete
on price, but clearly there is more to
it than that. For a start it’s a family
business. Remember those babies sitting
in high chairs in a shop in north London?
Jamie, the youngest, now more or less runs
the business as Malcolm gradually – very
gradually – eases himself out. Matthew
has his own graphic design company but
does all the design and advertising for
Buywise; and Joanne works alongside
Matthew’s wife in finance control.
“It’s about making sure, when people
come in, that they go out with the right
product.” So a mother of six who wanted
a washer dryer would be gently persuaded
against it; the man who sought a first class
washing machine but only wanted to pay
£200 would be advised that its life would
be pretty short; and the woman who wants
to replace her oven with the same make
she’s had for 40 years will be warned that
the same brand might not mean the same
reliability.
“If you went out and bought a good
quality washing machine 20 years ago,
you’d spend £300 or *3C