Communicating Business Transformation for Headlam Group plc

Client: Headlam Group plc

Headlam is the UK’s leading floorcovering distributor. Operating for over 30 years, the Company has expanded to a network of c.2,030 people, 17 distribution branches and 76 trade counters.

Following a period of sustained trading challenges, Headlam appointed Houston to support the Group on a project to launch its business transformation strategy to multi stakeholders, articulating the Group’s accelerated strategy which is focused on delivering a recovery in Group profitability and a return to sustainable growth. Houston implemented a multi-channel investor relations and media strategy, designed to address investor and market pre-conceptions and effectively communicate the new strategy to investors, trade media and colleagues across the business. Following a successful launch, communications activity focused on delivering regular updates to all key corporate audiences, updating them on the Group’s ongoing progress against its transformation plans. Our three-prong approach involved investor communications, corporate partner engagement and the development of an ongoing drumbeat of communications activity Over a period of eight months the campaign drove an exceptional increase in positive media coverage, generating an 8.2% uplift in share of voice versus the Group’s peer group with a total of 261 pieces of PR coverage across online and print.