Frank Hoogenraad

Frank Hoogenraad
Owner
Hoogies of Yarra Glen
Yarra Glen, VIC

How did you get into hardware?
I started this business here from a green fields site on 1 May 1978. I’ve been here ever since. I started with hardware and gradually expanded into timber and then plumbing. We added the rural side in 1998.

You joined HBT when the group first started in Victoria in 2000 – why?
We resigned from one of the marketing groups because the catalogues did not fit our business. They were completely the wrong image for us. We needed a buying group though – so we gave HBT a go.

How did it work out?
Our business really flew after we left the other group. But the thing we really love about HBT is the fellowship of all the proprietors. We’ve developed a number of long term friendships as a result of the networking HBT afforded us. And of all the strategic alliances in our business, this is the most profitable in terms of the rebates we receive.

What else?
Here is a group helping me to do business but respecting my independence – they don’t tell me what to do. We just love this group.

Can people call you about HBT?
The number is 03 9730 1611.