Trading director Tim Payne oversaw the company’s move into the impressive new 5,000 sqm building earlier this month.
Managing director Charles Clinkard is confident it’s the start of more great things to come for one of the North East’s longest established family-owned companies.
With enough space to store up to 250,000 pairs of high quality shoes, the warehouse, next to the Royal Mail Sorting Office at Cannon Park, Middlesbrough, is providing the company with the extra warehouse capacity needed to meet its increasing online sales.
Charles Clinkard is forecast to achieve £7m in online sales this year, with that figure expected to rise to £10m over the next three years.
Charles said: “With the online side of the business growing at a terrific rate the extra warehouse capacity means we will be in the ideal place to satisfy increasing demand from our discerning customers.
“It also means everything is in place to expand the team and grow the business further.”
The new head office is the latest development in the company’s 91 year history.
It was Charles’ grandparents who started the company in 1924. The family-owned footwear retailer now has 33 stores across the country.
The company’s management team has worked with Dennis McLuckie – the construction project manager – at every stage of the build.
Dennis and his 40-strong team of local workers built the new head office and warehouse using the original steel framework of the original building – a former homewares store. More than 30,000 bricks were used, along with additional steel framework, to support a 1,300 sqm suspended concrete deck which is home to a suite of offices.
The new building boasts solar panels and solar controlled anti-glare glass, resulting in it being hugely energy efficient.