MY WORKING DAY- Breck Stockton, Director, Stocktons Liverpool
Breck Stockton is director of Stocktons Liverpool. He is mainly based at the company’s new Liverpool showroom in Home Quarter, Liverpool One.
This is his working day.
7.00AM I get up having been working round the clock the last few days handling lots of corporate and private client business purchasing furniture from our new Liverpool showroom. I’ll admit to being hooked on my i-phone for business and social media and spend probably too much time first thing answering messages, although many are orders coming in from the previous night after store retail hours have finished.
8.00AM I need to get to the showroom by 8.30am as our signage in Liverpool goes up today. There’s something symbolic about your name in lights on a building in spite of all the hard work that goes in prior. It’s almost the key part of the operation! I’m meeting the new team on site as part of the final preparation for our first weekend in the city.
8.30AM The team are looking fresh considering how much furniture has been handled in contributing to the design of the space. It’s a stressful job too because we’re talking about innovative and exclusive items that need lots of care in moving. Some of the world’s leading brands like Natuzzi and Duresta are all here.
10.00AM We’re open for only our second day and a few of the team have spent some extra time making themselves even more glamorous for the cameras – we’ve got a photographer coming in for some media exposure this morning, following another trade magazine award that we won recently.
11.00AM I’m meeting an architect’s practice seeking out ‘furniture with personality’ for a large project they’re working on for private clients in Wirral and Southport. They seem very taken with our Timothy Oulton collection.
12.30PM I always have lunch on the go and now’s the time. I am very hands-on within the business and wouldn’t want it any other way.
12.45PM I’ve got meetings for the next few hours with some London and Manchester-based suppliers. It’s not surprising that so many are looking to Liverpool with the city’s retail offer so high in the UK shopping stakes. It is obviously good news for us and a key factor in our decision to open here.
3.30PM I’m meeting some directors from the Home Quarter and Liverpool One for a briefing on the good progress we’ve made.
4.00PM I’m looking after two customers from Liverpool that have been loyal to us for many years travelling to our Great Ancoats Street, Manchester site from Sefton Park. I know they are delighted we are here. They’ve told us enough times to open here!
5.00PM I’m leaving for the day but will be on the phone most of the way home to plan tomorrow.
6.30PM Catching some admin time after a comforting dinner because it’s the only time of day when there are no deliveries or a team to organise and there’s some tranquillity in my office at home even though there isn’t in my head! Lot’s going on!
9.15PM I’ll be catching the last throws of the football tonight and seeing as we’ve just landed in Liverpool, it might be better to keep my allegiances to myself for now! Whatever your team, we all know it’s a great escape from business and it helps me get my head down for another big day tomorrow.