Toolbolt, which also stocks a range of affordable luggage items, started life in 2013 in Sand Street, then moved into York Street before the building was acquired by Alliance Tesco, relocating again into larger premises in Dumaresq Street last year.
Owner Gerry Moore explained that the current shop – next to Hectors – became available last year when the proprietor of The First Place hardware store decided to retire. ‘It is a lot bigger, plenty of space for all our stock, although we had to raise the bannisters upstairs for health and safety reasons. People don’t realise how much space there is at the back.’
Mr Moore has held roles in a number of different environments over the years. ‘Originally I wanted to work in aircraft engineering, even got my pilot’s licence, but ended up in the motor trade. If you’d told me I would end up in retail I would never have believed it.’
Before setting up on his own, Mr Moore worked for scaffolders SGB, on the sales side, as well as Hewden Hire. It was at SGB that he saw a niche in the market for quality, specialist workwear and footwear. ‘People come in here looking for boots and coats for all types of activities, from catering to sports and motorbikes. The environment has really changed so much and tradespeople now want to look fashionable as well as professional, especially if they are working on expensive developments – they want to look the part.’
Hence some fairly fancy footwork along the walls of the shop, from women’s steel-toe-capped shoes to big brands such as Timberland and DeWalt, and accessories including hats, hi-vis jackets, overcoats, insoles, laces and socks for people who spend all day on their feet and out of doors.
Upstairs, there is a choice of the new lightweight suitcases as well as workbags, shoppers and rucksacks. ‘Originally we took on the stock at our previous shop, which used to stock luggage, but it proved such a good market that we realised there is a need for affordable travel items,’ said Mr Moore.
The name Toolbolt reflects his first shop in Sand Street, which stocked only nuts, bolts and tools. It took quite a while to settle on a name that was available as a dot.com. ‘We tried every name we could think of and then my wife, Sally, found Toolbolt and I said, we’ll have it.’
It’s quite a family business as their son, Declan (10), has come up with his own promotional ideas, including fun toys like Finger Fidgets.
Always with an online presence in mind, Mr Moore’s shop manager, Seb Nicolle, is not only his nephew but also a bit of a ‘whizz’ when it comes to technology.
They’ve also taken advice from Jersey Business. ‘They were a really good sounding board when I first started up,’ he recalled. ‘You really need someone to bounce ideas against.’
So where to in future? ‘We already supply the States and the larger construction companies with workwear, but to extend our market we need to try more online, so we’ve been looking at Amazon, although you have to get the timing right.
‘For me, it’s great to get up every day looking forward to going to work. I really enjoy being master of my own destiny and I wish I’d done this years ago.’
