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Parma's 25th Anniversary - An Interview with the Directors

Father and son duo Phil & Marc Pittock have been at the helm of Parma Group for 25 years. But what did they want to be when they were younger? What advice do they give young entrepreneurs today? 

A look back on the last 25 years with Parma's founders

Parma is proud to be celebrating 25 years in business, but how did we get here? Our directors answer some personal questions about their journey to 25 years of success. Did their goals go to plan? What they would do differently? 

We delve into the minds of founding directors, Phil and Marc Pittock to talk to us about their experience at Parma.

Watch the video below to find out more, or read the interview below.
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An Interview with Phil & Marc, founding directors
  • What's been your favourite memory at Parma?

    M: There's been quite a few over the years if I'm honest, have you got any particular favourites?
    P: I'll tell you what stands our as a lightbulb moment to me, the trade show we went to in the NEC, you went one day, and I went the next day. And we both fastened on one particular supplier from another country, and they had a product which we thought would really mesh in with our range, and that's been one of our main products, ever since and to this day.
    M: Yes, that was in 2006.
    P: I remember that day so clearly!
    M: I'm not sure if that's my favourite memory but it's certainly a good one!
     
     
  • How did you come up with the name for your company? 

    P: Remember that?
    M: Yeah it was an interesting few evening of discussions amongst the family - three of us partners at the time - Phil, me (Marc), my mother Ruth
    P: We wanted something that was simple to say, and could slip off the tongue, and we decided to use those letters Phil and Ruth, Marc also. That came up as Parma!
    M: And that's what we've stuck to, yeah!
    P: Interestingly, while we have stuck to that, even though Marc is now married to Juliet we didn't decide to change it to Parjama!
     
     
  • Since forming Parma, what changes have you seen in the transport industry?

    M: There's been a lot, hasn't there? If you went to a trade show 20 years ago, there would have been very few women - that's changed. Electric vehicles, that's an ongoing change. 
    P: Yes! And people are far more safety conscious, and environmentally conscious, aren't they?

     
  • How did you ensure that Parma would stand out? 

    M: I think what we wanted to do from the beginning was to have a company that put our customers first, to sell a quality product, at a quality price and give a quality service. I think that's something we've stuck to over the years, and it's worked, hasn't it?
    P: Yes, those were guided principles which were set down right at the start - and it's a success story really!

     
  • What advice would you give to someone just starting their own business?

    M: The most important thing is having a plan. You need to know what products you're going to sell, you need a financial plan. It's good to get advice from other people who have experience in business, and you improve that over the years.
    P: Yes, definitely so! I think time is so critical isn't it? I've said before, 25 minutes you can waste very very quickly, but 25 years has gone like a flash!
     
     
  • What was the biggest challenge of the last 25 years? 

    P: I'll tell you what it was for me; there was a period of time just at the point of the global financial crash, and we made some business choices which were not good, didn't we? We ended up trading at a loss for several months, and it's not an experience I'd like to go through again. 
    M: No.. the COVID time was also challenging, we had to furlough some of the staff, gave them work to do at home, and we got through that as well. 
    P: I think you have to face up to what's going on, and sometimes take drastic action quickly to arrest it.
     
     
  • Where do you see Parma in 25 years? 

    M: You probably need to ask my daughter that one! In 25 years I'll be 71, and how old will you be?
    P: I shall be a daisy pusher!
    M: Yeah, I don't know! Maybe it's the younger staff as well, maybe they'll take it forward, you never know! But it will still be here.
    P: I think it ought to be a well respected, established name in the market, a trusted advisor on wheel safety and styling, and perhaps wherever the business might take us as it grows. We have a good potential and name in the market that can move forward and grow.
    M: I agree.

     
  • How old were you when you started Parma?

    P: Take off 25 from what I am now.. it's embarrassing because I was 44 at the time! I might have passed my leaving age.
    M: I was 21, with not a single grey hair. A lot has changed in that department in 25 years!

     
  • What did you want to be as a kid?

    M: Well, as a young kid I wanted to join the SAS, but it wasn't something that lasted very long as I'm a bit unfit. But I did always want to run my own business, it was an ambition as a teenager. 
    P: I'm not sure - I kind of scuffled through life and didn't have much ambition. I did think once I'd be a tycoon..
    M: You mean typhoon?
    P: No, no. That's windy. I think really I'd like to have been a happy grandpa, and that's worked out successfully I think!

     
  • What advice would you give yourselves back then?

    M: I would have paused going into business to learn a lot more about it. I knew I could sell - I'd been in a job selling since I left school, but I knew nothing about finance, or forward planning, or purchasing from overseas. We learnt it as we went along really. But if I could give myself advice, I would have given it another couple of years and learnt a bit more about it from someone else.
    P: Nothing can beat training. I think getting into a good business management training course so you can study the basics of business and how it works. Why profit and loss is so important. Why customer service is so important. Get to know those things and what really makes a business tick, or you're floundering aren't you?
    M: Yes, we had to do it the hard way! But we got here, still in business, and we're looking forward to continuing!

    P: Thank you for reading our interview! We've really enjoyed the last 25 years, and we really appreciate all those loyal customers who have been with us, and we look forward to welcoming new ones. 

    M: I'd also like to say thank you, not just to our customers but also our suppliers and staff. We appreciate them all!