The leading wholesale giftware company is combating post-Brexit trading concerns by opening the EDC in Poland
Established in 1990, Puckator is a design led company importing and distributing giftware and home accessories throughout the UK and Europe. With production primarily in China, its designs are translated into trend related products, which has enabled the company to grow rapidly, employing 120 staff across its offices in UK, Spain, Italy, and China. Puckator’s head office and distribution centre is located in Cornwall, where 60 staff are employed.
With sales teams and B2B e-commerce sites in UK and throughout Europe, the EU represents 50% of Puckator’s sales, so the impact of Brexit, and the subsequent trading difficulties encountered with lengthy delays and the imposition of import tariffs between the UK and Europe had been significant.
Mark Howard, CEO of Puckator group, says: ‘The European market is absolutely key to our business and is reliant on the fast and cost-effective delivery of orders to our customers there. Despite exhaustive pre-Brexit planning, the resultant increase in distribution costs and much longer transit times has forced us to look urgently at alternatives. As such, we are in the process of establishing a European Distribution Centre in Wroclaw, South West Poland, to ensure we maintain the high level of service our customers in Europe have come to expect from us’.
Puckator has signed the lease on a modern 4000 square metres unit located on a newly constructed logistics park adjacent to Wroclaw airport, which will serve as the group’s European Distribution Centre (EDC). South West Poland is geographically advantageous for pan-European distribution and also provides a relatively benign business environment within which to operate. Initially, plans were the commencement of operations by the end of the year, but progress has been swift and now it is likely the EDC will be fully operational by 1 October 2021.
