A dedicated team of cabinetmakers, specialising in a range of products from kitchens to bespoke wine cellars, has strengthened its ties to the Yorkshire sporting community by forming an official Business Club partnership with Leeds United Football Club. Gaining the opportunity to showcase the Watkinson Joinery name in front of more than 30,000 fans each matchday, there is also potential for the business to be broadcasted to a national audience.
By becoming Leeds United Business Club partners, Watkinson Joinery has enhanced its connections to local sporting institutions, with prior links to Yorkshire County Cricket Club through their sponsorship of England Test Captain Joe Root and Karl Carver – the brother of a Watkinson Joinery employee.
Founder of the business, Ian Watkinson, is also keen to contribute towards sport at an amateur level, with the company sponsoring Sessay CC and Sessay CCFC, as well as the Hambleton Junior Cricket League.
In addition to the branding exposure Watkinson Joinery enjoys on matchdays, the business also features on the club’s official StatTracker social media content, which is then posted to the club’s social media feeds, reaching Leeds’ combined audience of close to one million followers across Facebook and Twitter.
An important component of Watkinson Joinery is the emphasis that Ian Watkinson places on apprenticeships: “A key part of the company’s ethos is bringing on the next generation of future cabinet makers. I still have two former apprentices working within the business, and we’ve recently taken on another one, as well.”
Over the last few years, Watkinson Joinery has earned a reputation for creating unique wine rooms, with designs varying for each customer. Featured in the Yorkshire Post for their work in March 2018, it is a trait that has garnered local attention and sets the cabinetmakers apart from their competitors.
However, Ian Watkinson explains that this began unexpectedly: “Wine cellars are our little niche thing at the minute, our USP if you like. It was one customer that we’d worked for before that said they were looking at a wine cellar and would we be up for doing it. We did and on from there, because we had the photos, we were able to market it.”
Watkinson Joinery views their relationships within sport as a positive step as the business continually attempts to expand. Ian Watkinson explained: “Being linked to a high-profile club, getting our name out there and hopefully getting in there with some of the footballers!
“You’re getting yourself out there with things that have a lot of people following them or looking at them and there’s a good chance of being seen, it’s another point of contact.”
