Nuttall
Meet the Collaborator – Matt Perry, Director of Client Operations
Like many of our team, Matt has enjoyed a long, varied and successful career at Nuttall and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. Joining over 29 years ago as a draughtsman, Matt’s journey has taken him through many parts of the business, including Project Management, Account Management and Client Operations Manager.
Today, he is our Director of Client Operations, ensuring smooth delivery and a consistently exceptional client experience. From workflows to worktops, relationships to retailers, there’s no lack of variety, and as you’ll read in the following interview, Matt isn’t shy of a challenge or two.
The client relationship
Q. You’re often one of the first people new clients meet. What’s the first thing you want them to understand about Nuttall?
Matt: Primarily, we would like our clients to know that we are open and honest with everything we do. That’s a non-negotiable for all of us here and it’s intrinsic to the Nuttall culture. Whichever stage a project is at, it is always better to speak up if something is going to be difficult. It’s better to be transparent and to overcome challenges by working in partnership with clients, than it is to fail.
What makes a great client partnership, and what helps your team deliver outcomes that truly exceed expectations?
Matt: To continue the previous point, it’s being able to build relationships upon trust and honesty. By doing so, it works both ways. We trust in our clients to provide the brief, the crucial information, dates that they need to land the projects, and in the same way, they trust in us to deliver. We can both rely on each other and that’s a great place to be when in a partnership.
Process, delivery and confidence
Q. When a client brings a new brief into the Creative Concept Centre, how do you guide them from that first spark of an idea through to a fully delivered retail solution?
Matt: I’m sure our clients won’t mind me saying that sometimes briefs can be vague. But that’s okay – that’s where we can step forward and ask the right questions, look for the details and find out what they really want. It’s a process of continual communication.
Often, we find the answer isn’t always what the client first came for. Those eureka moments aren’t uncommon and that comes down to our consultative approach and applying our experience and expertise to the brief. That’s also another trust exercise – clients trust us to tell them if there are better solutions from a quality, time or best value perspective.
It’s rare for them to be unsure because we can always lead with tangible experience. Specifically, by showing our clients examples of where we have provided and delivered a similar solution. There is no better way to show a proof of concept and to reinforce that we can deliver exactly what the client needs.
Collaboration and the Creative Concept Centre
Q. As clients see ideas evolve in real time within the Creative Concept Centre, what conversations usually follow, and how does it influence their thinking and decision-making?
Matt: During the discovery and prototyping phase, we focus on material specifications and best value cost. It’s at this stage that we often need to find a compromise and a balance between what the client or the designer is proposing, and what is feasible from a cost, time and manufacturing perspective.
Ultimately, anything is possible, but these conversations are geared towards ensuring that what we propose and produce is suitable for the retail environment in which it’s being delivered and takes into consideration the life expectancy and total cost of ownership.
Q. You work closely with designers, engineers, makers and installers. How does that cross-functional approach benefit clients as their project progresses?
Matt: This is something that I feel is truly magical and unique to Nuttall, and that’s the integration of skills and understanding. What I mean is, that even with so many skillsets in the business, we all understand just enough about one another’s areas of expertise to know how we can work better together for the benefit of the client.
By knowing each other’s “basics”, it makes for better discussions, smoother processes and at the end of the day, an improvement on cost, ease and speed.
Delivering quality, speed and value
Q. How does Nuttall’s flexible approach help prevent problems while staying aligned to client priorities?
Matt: You might laugh, but I wouldn’t say we necessarily have problems. We don’t think about design or manufacturing in that way. Through understanding what matters most to the client, we adapt. There are challenges, yes, but we work through those with flexibility. I think the culture we have and the relationships that we have with our clients means that we can avoid problems before they happen.
If the client is looking for speed, manufacturing can take place in-house. However, we have many examples of clients looking for a lower cost but still wanting rollout at speed, then we have adopted a blended manufacturing approach through our local and international supply chains, and commence rollouts with in-house manufacture and then blend in lower cost solutions during the rollout to achieve best value. Everything is possible. That’s the Nuttall mindset.
Q. What’s a recent challenge a client brought to you, and how did your team turn it into a practical, forward-thinking solution?
Matt: A common and recurring challenge can be sourcing equipment or materials. Especially so if a client is fixated on a particular product or finish, or they have nominated a specified supplier. That’s where we can pre-empt lead time issues and have the conversation up front. “This may be difficult to source in the time we have, however we have sourced these alternatives for you.” That proactivity works extremely well and wins on most occasions.
Innovation, problem solving and industry change
Q. Retail is evolving quickly, from new formats to new technologies. What changes are you seeing in early conversations with clients, and how is your team adapting?
Matt: Thankfully for us, our industry has always evolved quickly, just in different ways. Again, this comes down to flexibility, but also awareness. We are aware that retail is becoming more experience-led with more theatre. We are therefore producing more visually impactful, design-led solutions that help brands stand out and attract consumers. I think it’s important to say that even with a lot of new technologies across the retail sector, we remember that it’s still about the people.
People, culture and Made in Dudley
Q. Across the Creative Concept Centre campaign there’s a strong message about people and craft. From your side of Client Operations, what does that really look like in practice?
Matt: For me it’s about pride and care. There’s a definitely a sense of pride around who we are, our evolving history and our people, whether apprentices or our longer-serving team members. And also where we are from. We’re not just from The Midlands, we’re not just from near Birmingham. We’re from Dudley in the Black Country and we’re proud of that.
All of this runs deep in our company culture and I see that every day in people asking “How did it go?”, “What did they think?” and “What’s next?” (admittedly, mostly with a Black Country twang).
Q. Why does being “Made in Dudley” matter when clients are looking for reliability, innovation and a partner they can trust?
Matt: It matters because everything is all under one roof, and therefore all under our control. By owning the process, we are reliable and in control of our own destiny. Our company culture promotes challenging the norm. And our open-door to The Creative Concept Centre welcomes trust with our partners.
Sustainability and future-facing
Q. Clients are more focused on sustainability than ever. What practical steps does Nuttall take during projects to support this?
Matt: We are actively incorporating sustainability into everything we do, from the materials we use and how we make products, to how they’re delivered. An example of this could be flat packing to save space in transit, one way of reducing carbon emissions.
Sustainability does often mean a conversation around budget, but we hope to see sustainable options become more cost-effective over time and thankfully the desire for change is there, with us and our clients.
What clients really want to know
Q. If you could tell a new client just one thing about what it’s like to work with your team, what would it be?
Matt: We strive to be an extension of our clients’ teams, and we do that by putting their best interests first. We do what we say and in the rare moments that we make a mistake, we own it and rectify it – moving heaven and earth to do so if needed. And if we all have the same end goal, so much of this comes naturally.
Q. Looking ahead, what part of Nuttall’s evolution, whether through people, process or the Creative Concept Centre, have you been most excited to share with clients?
Matt: I’m always excited about everything! The Creative Concept Centre is a big deal for us and our future. We are already seeing a change how clients are interacting with us, it’s made us a lot more social as a business, and new clients are finding their way to us more than ever. I’ve seen a huge increase in client visits and we can see that in the pipeline for Q1 2026. It’s going to be a very busy quarter, but that’s a great problem to have.
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