Mike Shoppee, founder of Bearing Wholesalers, credits his mother Catherine, a chartered accountant, for teaching him a golden rule of running a business: “Watch the pennies and the quids will look after themselves.” This became Mike’s credo for running a successful business.

“I’ve been in the bearing business since 1968, which means it’s 50 years,” he said.

It’s been a long road for the man who began his working life as an apprentice fitter and turner. After finishing his apprenticeship, Mike worked at SKF, the biggest bearing company in the world. Between the ages of 19 to 22, Mike did the rounds as a milkman, complete with horse and cart, while working at SKF Bearings. He worked two jobs because he was saving to get married.

Mike is best described as stable. He was married for 47 years to Veronica, his first girlfriend, who he met in primary school when he was in Grade 5 and she was in Grade 4. That union produced a son Damian, daughter Renee, and six grandchildren.

“I’ve been stable all along,” Mike said. “Success comes from sticking to the same thing: same girlfriend and wife, and I’ve been in the same business virtually since I started work.”

Stability aside, it didn’t take Mike long after he finished his apprenticeship to get moving and establish a business of his own.

“In 1969, he started to trade in Moray St, South Melbourne under the name Victorian Bearings,” he said. The partnership dissolved when Mike wanted to move into automotive, and his partner wanted to stay in industrial bearings.

In 1977, Mike worked for Central Bearing Distributors. When he left in 1984 he was the sales manager, having overseen the company’s expansion into several new outlets.

Owner of Central Bearings was Peter Butler, and Mike said he had a long and lasting friendship. “About 12 years before I worked for him we sat together in a hotel and watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon,” he said.

“In 2005, I bought Central Bearings stock, not the business, and Peter closed. And in 2015, when Peter was 82 years old, I was best man at his wedding.”

In April 1985, Mike started up on his own business: Bayswater Bearings and Oil Seals in a factory complex at the corner of Barry St and Holloway Drive in Bayswater. The company evolved, and most readers would be more familiar with its modern name, Bearing Wholesalers.

“Bearings are ugly, round and grey,” Mike said. “So, to get people to come in, we decided to do bearings, oil seals and automotive products.”

He might be winding down into retirement mode, albeit slowly, but behind the 69-year-old’s wire rimmed glasses there is a sparkle in his eyes when he talks about the business he and his wife built. And despite his comments on how bearings look, Mike bubbles enthusiasm for all things wheel bearings, ringing off part numbers and explaining differences between needle, roller and ball bearings.

“I started in Bayswater because of where I lived, and the business grew quickly,” Mike said. “It wasn’t that long after we opened that we decided to do our Olympic Rings around the Melbourne metropolitan area, just selling to engineering and automotive people.”

In the early days, Mike did most of the repping for the business. “I was on the road every morning, all morning, and because I was the financier of the joint and everything, I was pretty busy,” he said.

“I then realised there was a big hole in the bearing market for an automotive resellers program, and especially in the cataloguing area. So, we started up hard copies of catalogues and created, what we believe, is the best automotive program in Australia for wheel bearing kits, Uni joints and oil seals. This now accounts for about two-thirds of our turnover.”

Mike expanded quickly after opening the first store: “Within two years of starting to trade we had outlets in Lilydale and Ringwood (1987).

“And over the next few years we bought Melton Bearings in Melton (1995), which we changed to BB&OS. Then in 1996 we took over Darley Bearings in Bacchus Marsh, although we didn’t change its name until 1999,” he said.

“We then opened stores in Dandenong and Sunshine. These stores started to trade on the same day in 1997.

“Next was West Melbourne in 2001 and Thomastown in 2006.”

Mike said the name change came about because “We realised that to advertise our specials it was too hard to do so under three names, so we came up with the name Bearing Wholesalers.

“And here we are today, still Bearing Wholesalers.”

Six years ago, Bearing Wholesalers opened stores at Geebung, Queensland (2009) and four years ago, at Wetherill Park (2011) near Sydney NSW. These stores sell to resellers only.

“These last two stores were opened up as automotive resellers and other bearing companies only,” Mike said. “We don’t have a trade counter; all the other shops sell to the trade and industrial.”

Mike said that as the business grew his office staff included his wife, son and daughter, who both worked with him for 26 years.

“It’s been a family business all the way through,” he said. “My wife and I in the beginning, and as the children got old enough they joined us.

“My son Damian started out as a storeman and forklift driver in 1991, eventually becoming my right-hand man and a company director.”

Mike said the business had been good for him and his wife who died in 2016, “After 40 years of marriage and a 60-year friendship.

“We had already decided to sell the business before she died,” he said.

Mike pointed out that even though it was a big company for one man to finance it and grow, there were no really, rough times.

“In the beginning, it was okay,” he said. “Then came the growth period in the early 1990s, when interest rates were over 20 per cent. We just kept growing and the biggest problem would have been the financing of the growth, but because of our growth, we didn’t feel it too much because we had cash flow,” he said.

“There were times when I would lie in bed wondering how we were going to pay everyone, but you would say it was smooth sailing overall.

“There were a couple of bad debts here and there that were a nuisance. Overall though, the business was smooth and we were always lucky enough to make a profit.”

Mike said his biggest worry was paying tax, but the company was always on top of its finances, and he credits his mother, Catherine, for helping control finances. Born in 1918, Catherine did all the accounts for the first 15 years of business. She even taught Mike’s daughter Renee, who started in 1990, “to do the accounts the old-fashioned way”.

“I sent my mother to school in 1999 to learn about GST,” Mike said. “When she finished, she taught us all about the GST.”

Mike said at the time of the sale to Bapcor, Bearing Wholesalers had $10.5m in stock, 2500 accounts and another 1000 cash sale accounts, and a staff of 85.

A major strength of Bearing Wholesalers is its catalogue. “We are constantly updating the catalogue and have two, full-time people researching new vehicles, part numbers etc.

“Our automotive program has grown to include drive shafts, timing belt kits, trailer kits, CV joints and centre bearings, 4WD repair kits, and our wheel hub range is now up to about 850 sizes. We think it’s the best range in Australia.”

Mike said Burson was his biggest customer: “Burson came on line early and we just grew together. Burson is still our biggest customer, about 20 per cent of our business.”

Mike is proud of being debt free on the day of the sale to Bapcor. “We owned everything,” he said. “Every car; all 43 of them.

“We started out renting one factory in the six-factory complex at Bayswater. We now occupy the whole complex, six factories, and I own them.

“All shelving and office fittings in all outlets were paid for as we went. We never leased them.

“Utes, we would buy because we drove them till they dropped, but the reps had choice of colour and then, depending on how fat the bank account was, I bought some and leased some, and when it got near payment I just paid them out.”

Mike’s life rotated around vehicles. On his desk are a pair of chrome Jaguars you would see on the bonnet.

“I’ve been a Jaguar car man since 1982 and I own three old Jags: 1976, 1982 and 1985 models which are in original condition,” he said. These are not his day to day vehicles. For that he drives a Toyota Camry.

A major change in the way Bearing Wholesalers came about with computerisation. Mike said that when he started everything was done manually, all inventory kept on cards. Twenty years ago, the company went to computerisation using the Momentum program because Burson were already using it.

Mike said that being a family-owned company there has been a lot of staff longevity. “Even after the take-over we only had one staff member leave in the first 12 months,” he said.

“Only in the last couple of weeks three left; two of them were a husband and wife situation, where he had a stroke and she wanted to look after him. And in the other case, his wife had a baby and after 12 months she went back to work and he stayed home because she earned more than he did; a home dad,” he grinned.

Mike said there are about 700 bearing outlets in Australia, but not everyone carries the whole range.

“We carry the whole range. If someone comes in and wants a front wheel bearing for a Massey Ferguson tractor, we’ve got it. We have always taken pride in having the range and the stock and we look after industrial customers and automotive companies.

“Over the past 10 years we moved more to automotive bearings because the average bearing company has moved away from them. It’s harder than selling industrial bearings.”

Mike said the industry is ageing and many automotive resellers decided to sell: “When we decided to sell, we had three companies looking at us,” he said. “One was an investment company, the other two were Burson and Repco. I wanted to sell to Burson; they were good to me and my family for many years.”

Mike’s relationship with Burson goes back to the start of his business and dealing with Andrew Schram: “Andrew was with the original Burson, and has been a great asset to us,” Mike said. “We learned a lot and did a lot of things together in promotions, cataloguing, part numbers and so on.

“As Burson grew I grew, and Andrew was main man I dealt with. I thanked Andrew on behalf of the Shoppee family at a board of directors meeting. We are grateful to him for the way he stuck with us, advised us and accepted our ideas. I have grown to be personal friends with Andrew and his wife Sharon.”

Bearing Wholesalers has grown since Bapcor took over. Last year another outlet was opened in Cannington, WA and Mike said he looks forward to more, even though he is moving into retirement.

Interviewed March 2017