Fridge Freezer Direct: Personal service powers online-only distributor's leasing success

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Equipment type

Catering, refrigeration

Location

East Midlands

Solution

Online leasing options backed by dedicated account management

Introduction

Co-founder and Managing Director, Cory Greenhough, has experience in commercial refrigeration dating back to the 1990s, alongside a strong background in ecommerce during the dot-com rise and early 2000s. After seeing the success of ecommerce businesses around him, he and a friend started work on Fridge Freezer Direct (FFD) in2008, focused on commercial refrigeration and catering equipment -which has gone on to become an online-only distributor that has built a reliable industry reputation that continues to lead almost two decades later.

The mainpillars of the business are quality commercial equipment, value for money and A1 customer service.

Fridge Freezer Direct: Personal service powers online-only distributor's leasing success

Background

Fridge Freezer Direct now sells around 13,000 products from 30 different manufacturers and distributors, serving a broad spectrum of customers across the UK. Their online store supports anyone who wants to store or display cold or hot food and drink, from cafes, convenience stores and pubs through to household names such as supermarkets and fast-food restaurants.

While being online-only, a highly talented tech team forms the engine of the business, supported by a small, agile team based in Barwell, Leicestershire. Many of the team have been with the company since its inception, and a single-touchpoint approach means the same “front of shop” team supports customers from initial sales enquiries through to after-sales and customer service, delivering seamless and effective human-focused support. Cory added:

“I sell my products and do business the way I would want to be treated when I’m buying.”

Their values are built on passion, honesty and being partner-proud so that their customers receive both the best product and service, to the extent that they will let suppliers go (no matter how successful the range) if their service to customers is not good enough: 

“When you’re a distributor in the commercial refrigeration and catering equipment space, you’re only as good as the manufacturers and partners you work with. We will only work with partners if they can provide and assure a certain level of reliability, service and support to our customers.”

 

Challenge

Upfront spend on multiple items of commercial refrigeration and catering equipment can be difficult for customers to achieve without flexible payment options available:  

“With the nature of the equipment we sell, if a business wants to open a new site or refurbish existing operations, there is a large capital outlay involved.”

Understanding its value, leasing has long been a part of FFD’s sales strategy. Over the years, Cory has explored and tried several leasing companies. As a business that is highly selective about partners, they needed a finance provider whose service, responsiveness and reliability would reflect positively on their own brand and customer experience.

Solution

Crucially, Cory has now built a finance partnership with Shire that is mutually respected as a two-way relationship, underpinned by attentive account management and communication where he can trust his customers are at the forefront.

Having experienced less consistent customer service and one-sided processes with other providers in the past, Cory now uses Shire Leasing exclusively because his dedicated account manager, Guy Lewcock, listens, collaborates with him to add mutual value and delivers a reliable service for both FFD and its customers, combining Shire’s robust service level agreements (SLAs) with genuine people-led support.

Across the Fridge Freezer Direct website, leasing is communicated on all eligible product pages with a “lease available from” cost, helping to raise awareness of catering equipment leasing options early in the purchasing journey. Thein-house team then utilise Shire Leasing’s tools and support to further help increase sales.

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Results & impact

Regular completion of leasing deals

with transactions typically ranging from £1,000 upwards, giving customers improved affordability to invest.

67% acceptance rate

In-house underwriting supports an average 67% acceptance rate for FFD, helping more customers proceed with commercial catering and refrigeration investment, rather than delaying or scaling back purchases.

Sales opportunities

More opportunities to cross-sell and upsell complementary equipment has become a valuable tool for the ‘front of shop’ team, increasing overall order values without putting extra pressure on customers’ cash flow.

Strengthened finance options

Business leasing is regarded as FFD’s strongest B2B payment option, alongside traditional bank transfer, as it does not carry the fees or margin reductions associated with credit cards or other existing finance options.

Testimonials & Perspective

Cory’s view of the success of the relationship is credited to a number of factors: Shire’s long-standing reputation, including the catering equipment leasing experience (members of both CEDA and ENSE), its own-book lending capabilities that help improve conversion rates in a tough market and, ultimately, the focus on building human-to-human relationships to support B2B business.

“You don’t just buy the product, you buy the person, and that rings true in B2B too. Building two-way relationships with partners like Shire and our Account Manager, Guy, who shares the same values as us, it’s key to ensuring our customers receive the highest level of care and service. 


“Ultimately, we all have to go to work, and so you want it to be as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. Choosing a finance partner like Shire and working with their team of like-minded people who also show that same passion, honesty and care as us; it just makes going to work and doing business together a better experience.”