When Alex Stevens left Levantina he went to work for a large fabricating company to source their stone for them. “Their biggest complaint about buying from wholesalers in the UK was that no-one ever got back to them,” says Alex.

It is a lesson he has taken with him now that he, along with Mathew Milner, Mathew Bacon and James Bentley, are wholesaling stone from around the world as International Stones, based in Sheffield.

James Bentley also worked for a fabricator after he left Pisani and seeing the day-to-day issues faced by fabricators has proved an invaluable experience. As well as responding to enquiries, they recognised there was a need for a reliable wholesaler that could provide deliveries at short notice.

International Stones started trading nearly two years ago. It began as a co-operation between James Bentley, Mat Milner and Mathew Bacon.

They were planning on setting up in a small yard in Derbyshire, but when Alex Stevens joined them he said if they were going to do it, they should do it properly. Alex knew of a warehouse in Sheffield, logistically ideally placed, that provided sufficient space for stock and adequate room for growth in the medium term.

After 20 years in the business, Alex had the contacts to be able to source stone from all over the world and they are now buying from more than 15 companies in Brazil, China, India, Spain, Portugal and Italy. “Establishing consistent supply of quality material at a realistic cost are key factors in sustaining a realistic profit margin and maintaining our position in a very competitive market place,” says Alex.

They had budgeted for a turnover of £1million in their first year of trading but say that by putting their profits back into stock they have achieved three times that figure. “I think people were so fed up with the service they were getting elsewhere they were looking for another supplier,” Alex told NSS.

International Stones are also proud of the quality of stone they are offering. As Alex says: “Everyone wants a price but if the stone’s not the quality they want it defeats the object.”

They do not underestimate the role their website (www.internationalstones.co.uk) has played since it went live in February, either. Mat Bacon, whose background is with stone wholesalers Harris Slate & Stone in Nottingham, now spends a couple of hours every day updating the site so that every new range they get in is photographed and uploaded. He is currently working on a new ‘Special Order’ section that will illustrate less commonly known materials, such as semi-precious stones and Onyx.

“Every time something new comes into the warehouse, or something goes out of the warehouse, the website is updated, so people can see what we’ve got in stock,” he says. And to emphasise new materials, there is a scrolling message across the top of the home page showing recent arrivals.

They sold eight slabs of a new granite Alex had sourced during a trip to Brazil in February in a week, thanks to the website.

The key to the site’s success, says Mat, was to make it simple. The stones are listed, named and the sizes shown. There is a close up picture that, with a single click of the mouse, can be expanded to fill the screen. There is also a whole slab image that can be viewed by clicking on the ‘view slab’ link, again expanding to show an image that fills the screen.

Mat says they are currently receiving about 50 hits a day from the website, about half of them from the public. They do not sell to the public, but most people do not appreciate there is such a range of materials to choose from. And with customers from London to Scotland, looking at the website can be easier than visiting the warehouse.

Fabricators nearer to International Stones’ Yorkshire base are increasingly bringing their customers in to see the selection in the warehouse.

Deliveries are made by a local haulier or fabricators can collect their materials themselves – and the Directors like to ensure their customers have their mobile numbers so they are contactable at any time, which means they can be flexible about collection times.

And if they are busy and you leave a message, they promise they will get back to you.