COTSWOLD COMPANY OPENS NEW BASE

An upmarket furniture and accessories retailer has expanded its storage operations in the Black Country to keep up with customer demand.

The Cotswold Company has opened a new 52,670 sq ft facility at Unit 9, The Woods Bank Estate, Wednesbury, adding 60% to its existing storage and doubling its intake capacity.

The move comes after it agreed a five-year lease.

Alan Joseph, operations director of The Cotswold Company, said it had moved its operations from the Cotswolds to the West Midlands over the past few years. The company has enjoyed 20% annual growth for the past three years.

The retailer is already looking at how it can continue its growth plans.

“We looked at the West Midlands as a more central location that matched the distribution pattern of our customers and has allowed us to expand our next day delivery area to almost the whole of the UK,” said Alan.

“That happened at the same time as our main courier relocating from Walsall to Wednesbury and so we took the opportunity to locate our central distribution centre to help with our growth. We are now talking to LCP about the next phase of our three-year growth plan in the region.”

The new facility, which will also enable it to offer a click and collect service as well as being the Northern hub for one of its delivery services, will bring four more jobs to the Black Country.

Andrew Preston, industrial property manager, said that The Cotswold Company’s move to Woods Bank means that the estate is now fully occupied.

“We’ve been working very closely with The Cotswold Company to help accommodate its growth plans and are looking forward to assisting on its next phase,” he said.

“It’s clear from this firm’s rapid expansion that the West Midlands is a great place to locate a storage facility because of the excellent road network links.”