Luxury lifestyle retailer The White Company has awarded a five-year contract to logistics group Wincanton under which it will transfer its warehousing and distribution operations to Wincanton’s own state-of-the-art eFulfilment facility.
Under the agreement, Chippenham-headquartered Wincanton will provide its multi-channel fulfilment services to the retailer, including store replenishment for its 60-plus UK and Ireland stores along with value-added services for annual 1.6m customers.
Initially, Wincanton will manage The White Company’s existing warehouse facility in Northampton before, over the course of the next 18 months, moving it to its own central operations 24 miles away in Corby.
As part of this move, Wincanton will introduce further customer experience improvements and operational capabilities, while supporting capacity for growth, including more automation to drive efficiency.
Around 175 fulfilment and warehousing staff from The White Company will transfer to Wincanton’s 20,000-strong workforce.
Wincanton, which has around 3,500 vehicles and operates from more than 200 sites across the country, won a similar deal recently with discount retailer Primark.
Its eFulfilment business has been the group’s star performer over the past year due to the huge rise in online shopping and home deliveries sparked by the pandemic.
Revenue from this part of business for the year ended March 31 is forecast to have soared by 56%, in part driven by its £23.9m acquisition last September of eCommerce fulfilment specialist Cygnia, which works with high-profile consumer-facing brands such as BrewDog, Moonpig, Molton Brown and Whittard of Chelsea.
Wincanton CEO James Wroath said the contract with The White Company was a big step forward for the group and a significant milestone for its eFulfilment operations.
“In due course, our state-of-the-art facility will be The White Company’s central logistics hub and we will be helping to deliver continued growth in customer experience, efficiency and productivity for the company through greater use of automation.
“It is testament to the strength, breadth and quality of our services that we have been selected by The White Company who keep the customer at the heart of everything they do to be their partner across all parts of their supply chain, building on our existing relationship as their two-person home delivery provider.”
The White Company, founded by Chrissie Rucker OBE 27 years ago, is one of the UK’s fastest-growing multi-channel retailers and a leading lifestyle brand. Its store portfolio includes high-profile concessions in Harrods and Selfridges.
