March 2012 Business of the Month - The White Company

 

 

Step inside The White Company’s warehouse and distribution centre in Brackmills and you can’t fail to be impressed.

 

The reception area, complete with white walls and a double bed dressed with luxury, white linen, leads into an impressive warehouse, with floor to ceiling racking, packing benches, an automated bubble machine to pack products safely and a busy team of staff processing orders, restocking shelves and getting an average of £4,500 orders shipped out to customers every day.

 

Tucked into a room on one side is the gift wrapping area – around 600 gifts are wrapped by hand every day - and nearby is the quality assurance department, where the toys, clothes, linen and home accessories that arrive via the HGV’s and lorries are checked for quality.

 

The White Company has grown quickly and in the last seven years store numbers have risen from 15 to 39 and customers now order online from all corners of the world.

 

Brackmills is the company’s main distribution centre and the building opened on May 1^st, 2005, with just under 200 staff now working there.

 

In 2010 the company moved its London call centre into the top floor above the Brackmills distribution centre, where staff take telephone orders and answer customer queries.

 

 

Being part of the Business Improvement District (BID) is something staff at The White Company feel is invaluable.

 

The company has found it relatively easy to recruit high quality staff for both and credits the local authority, neighbouring businesses and the BID team with contributing to a progressive and supportive environment.  Brackmills is easy to get to for suppliers and easy to get out of to service direct customers and shops.  It is also within striking distance of London, which means that trips from head office are very straightforward.

 

Employees, including both Michelle Coles and HR Manager Emma Brook sit on BID sub committees, helping to influence estate policies and activities. Staff say they love receiving the Brackmills Life monthly newsletter and keeping up with local news and views. The feedback is also that many were delighted to see so many of the estate’s speed humps removed as part of the BID’s capital road project last year.

 

For HR Manager Emma it is the annual Salary Survey, put together by the BID’s HR sub committee, that is particularly useful. “We use it to ensure we are in line with neighbouring firms in terms of both benefits and wages,” said Emma.

 

 

 

The peak season is always Christmas, when extra staff are recruited and daily orders soar to around 8,500. Traditionally the best festive seller is the company’s Winter Candle, which ranges from £26 to £70.

 

 

The White Company wants to give back to its neighbours and is offering 15% off all its products, plus free postage, until April 10^th 2012. Quote AA658 when you place your online or telephone orders.

Terms and conditions apply – see below.

1. Offer is valid on full priced items only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. 2. Offer is not valid in our clearance stores. 3. Standard free delivery is valid for online, telephone and store mail orders to the UK mainland only. 4. Offer excludes gift vouchers, all furniture, beds, mattresses, upholstery and made-to-order items. 5. To redeem this offer in-store you must present a copy of this article. 6. Offer expires 10th April 2012.