Timpsons steps out in style as profits surge

TIMPSONS, the family-owned cobblers to photo-processing chain has reported record results, with profits surging 43.5% to £14.5m.

The company, based next to Wythenshawe Hospital in south Manchester, is run by chairman John Timpson and his son, managing director James, and is well-known for its ground-breaking schemes such as one to give former offenders career opportunities.

Results for parent company Offerhapply Ltd, covering the year to September 28 2013 showed revenue rising to £144.6m from £136.5m in the previous year.

Managing director James Timpson told TheBusinessDesk.com the results were the combination of  actors: “We try really, really hard to fill our shops with amazing people, we haver added new services such as mobile phone repair which is going really well, and finally we have opened quite a lot of new shops.”

Timpsons now has 1,300 shops under its own brand and that of Max Speilmann and Snappy Snaps. One recent growth area, which is continuing at a rate of around four a week, is for concessions or ‘pods’ within supermarket stores or on their car parks.

Mr Timpson said around 340 colleagues, representing 10% of the group’s workforce are former offenders, making the group the largest employer of ex offenders in the country.

“It’s going very well, We are not prejeudiced about people’s backgrounds. We just want the livliest, sparkiest and most reliable people.

“We are now working with several other businesses who want to take on these people, and doing a lot of hand-holding.”

The group said that it is seeing strong growth in its new financial year –  sales are up 10% in the six months to the end of March.

It has recently agreed a nationwide deal to manage Tesco’s Photo business, which will see 140 of the supermarket’s phote centres be rebranded as Max Speilmann, while Timpson will run the online channel and run 245 self-service kiosks in-store.