Mar 3, 2026
Episode
32
Chris Hayward, NMBS, from Teenage Trainee to CEO of a £2.2bn Business
Summary
Transcript
Guest Details
Watch on YouTube
Chris Hayward spent 47 years at one company. He joined NMBS in 1977 as a teenage trainee on £18.50 a week and stepped down last year as chief executive of a co-operative transacting £2.2bn a year for over 1,200 independent merchants.
He joins host Jamie Hamer to explain how a buying society actually works, why he put his people before his customers, and how NMBS moved to the cloud four weeks before COVID and built its own offshore insurer so a downturn could never pull his members' credit. He is candid on the collapse of Troy, on his biggest regret, and on why only 20% of a builder's day is ever planned.
About NMBS
NMBS is a buying society for independent builders', plumbing, timber and hardware merchants. Founded in 1963 by twelve merchants and owned by its members, the Leicester-based co-operative aggregates the purchasing power of more than 1,200 independents and 500 suppliers, transacting over £2.2bn a year.
Jamie Hamer
Host, Retail is Detail Podcast
Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy, on the Psychology of a Good Deal and Why Price Is a Feeling
Ogilvy's Rory Sutherland on why retail is built for a rational shopper who does not exist, the tiny details that decide what we buy, and who really holds the veto.
Reid Archer, Pricemaster, on What AI Has and Hasn't Delivered in E-commerce
Our first guest returns: Reid Archer of TradeCounter Direct on an AI special. Hear how he built a 'case AI' to fight a legal dispute, and the strike that buried his 17-year-old site on Google.
Eddie Grovu, Toolden, on Scaling a Retail Business from £11m to £70m With No Stores
Eddie Grovu of Toolden explains how a self-funded retailer competes with Screwfix, Toolstation, and Amazon on single-digit margins. He reveals how a relaunched Kit Builder and email automation unlocked an existing customer base.