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28th January 2021
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Lakes Bathrooms opens new warehouse
Shower enclosure specialist, Lakes Bathrooms, has opened a new 70,000sq.ft warehouse in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to expand and spread capacity from the existing 100,000sq.ft facility at its headquarters in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
This distribution hub will house around £1million-worth of stock, including all PureVueHD products in the Coastline and Classic Collection, to mirror the comprehensive HQ stockholding.
Announcing this expansion, managing director, Robin Craddock, explained: "The launch of PureVueHD and growth in our product range has put positive pressure on the stock holding space at our headquarters. With over 40,000 different products and product variants, plus our next day or 48-hour delivery aim to the majority of the UK, we have a significant investment in the volume of stock needed to meet demand and provide capacity for planned growth.
"Opening another site became imperative and we decided to spread geographically, to support speed of delivery across the UK."
Progress has been swift at the Stoke warehouse; the new facility is holding stock destined for a large proportion of the UK market and is already over half full. Inbound stock now arrives at the rate of a container-load per day and outbound deliveries already number 100 each day.
According to Lakes Bathrooms, Stoke-on-Trent was chosen for its proximity to the M6 and central UK location. It says that the operation in Stoke is designed for efficiency and so is being run by an initial staff of seven, led by a local supervisor, and overseen by the warehouse and transport manager at its headquarters. To match the increased warehousing with additional logistic capacity, Lakes Bathrooms also plans to expand its fleet of delivery vehicles.
Still expanding in the face of more challenging economic circumstances, Robin is optimistic:
"This expansion has dual purpose - to ensure that we can meet existing commitments and also to prepare for the growth that we expect as PureVueHD continues to positively influence the market. We continue to grow and to plan for the future."
11th November 2016