A simple business model, executed with commitment and focus

A distribution business like ours is not an overly complex model.

What makes us different is the way in which we focus on our markets and execute our business model. That's the competitive advantage behind our growth - and we're not about to radically change such a proven strategy.

So the future is about evolution not revolution. The emphasis remains on growth, through acquisitions and through organic growth driven by our capabilities in four key areas which are at the heart of our success:

People

We invest in - and support - the most important resources that we have: our people. Our customer experience is based on interaction with our 70,000 plus people and customer service is at the heart of every recruitment we make and every training programme we launch. Our commitment is to recruit and train the best people available throughout our industry that have a particular eye on providing outstanding customer service. This includes the way we assist customers in all aspects of their business, by providing the right products at the right time, as well as being knowledgeable in all aspects of their particular needs.

Product

We continue to offer more products and services to more customers in more sectors in more countries. We buy the right products at the right specification and the right price. Our objective is to have the widest product offering of anyone in the industry, so we can fulfil all of our customers' particular needs. This includes carrying some of the most recognised brands in each of our business sectors to allow us to support our customers in each specific area.

Distribution

We buy our products well and provide those products and services reliably, efficiently and quickly to our customers. Our logistics infrastructure allows us to ensure that our size translates directly into better, faster service. Our objective is to have the highest order fill rates of anyone in the industry, as this will be of great benefit to our customers so that they consider us to be not only reliable, but also, more importantly, a true partner in their business.

Service

We shape our business to meet our customers' needs in whatever way is most advantageous for them. We go out of our way to make it easy for customers to choose Wolseley - whether that's through deliveries, collection services, online shops, shared branches or any other initiative. Since the largest majority of our business is transacted at the local level, through more than 4,650 locations across Europe and North America, our objective is to lead the industry when it comes to access and availability of product.

You can read practical examples of our model in action on the following pages.

A track record of success and a focused future

We have demonstrated year after year that by doing it our way, we can consistently deliver excellent performance. In this, our tenth successive year of delivering record results, we have again demonstrated that, despite facing some challenging market conditions, we can continue to grow and in most cases have been able to outperform both the market and the competition.

So our emphasis remains on profitable growth driven by an ever stronger focus on the core competencies that underpin the execution of our business and some key factors that we believe give us true competitive advantage.

Our structure is designed to keep the right activities at the right level in the Group - the continental groups are directly responsible for the profits of the operating companies they oversee. This is their key priority and area of focus. In addition, they are responsible for organic growth; being same branch sales, new branch openings, expansion into new geographies, as well as expansion into new customer types throughout their areas of responsibility.

At the Group and continental levels we also focus on the strategy and our five core competencies, which feed into the operating companies and underpin their ability to grow.

Human resources and leadership development

Customer service is why we exist as an organisation. Identifying and training the top talent within our industry therefore not only impacts customer service, but also our ability to support double-digit growth. Whilst we recognise that people are a large component of our costs, we strive to identify and train people as one of our most valuable investments.

Our North American market: We have an extensive branch presence across the continent, served by our impressive Distribution Centre network. During the year we continued to grow our leading positions in both the building materials and the plumbing and heating markets in the US and Canada.