Nursery Today is here to help and aiming to connect the industry amid the Coronavirus and COVID-19 outbreak. Today in our online special supplier interviews, we questioned Cuddleco’s Managing Director, Marc Kelly, to find out their business strategy moving forward through these difficult times.
How are you all? How’s your team’s morale?
Thank goodness we are all well and long may it continue for us and everyone we know, their friends and family.
How are you coping with staffing levels – ensuring staff are okay and that you’re abiding by government regulations? Do you have back-up plans?
We have a 42,000 pallet warehouse from which we service our pet, DIY and the nursery companies from. We also run/operate Kiss logistics from here which is our distribution service for third party clients so it has been a HUGE task keeping it operational and above all else SAFE!
We have ALL the government guidelines in place for social distancing, hygiene and safety. Keeping on top of it is a huge daily task for our logistics manager. We are also very fortunate to have a fantastic logistics and warehouse team without whom we couldn’t keep the business running.
Are you a company where some staff can comfortably work remotely?
Yes, everyone who can perform most or part of their role from home is working from home. In a peculiar twist we all communicate more now face to face than we did before. Regular scheduled face to face video conference calls have become the daily norm, thank you Whatsapp!
What business strategies do you have in place to assist the continual smooth running of your business?
This changes daily. The most important strategy is the safety of all our staff, after that is has been reacting to demand within our industry’s and being as flexible as we can to our customers to provide the best service we can.
Do you have any helpful advice or additional support you are offering your retailers?
If you need help then please just call, we are finding that everyone’s needs are slightly different, if we are able to help then we will or we will try to find a solution for you.
Do you have any additional information or imagery of new ranges you could circulate to retailers to put onto their own websites should their bricks and mortar store have to close?
We do! We have a new furniture range which we were going to launch at Harrogate and three new complete furniture sets which we can drop ship for our customer base, these can be pre-sold now. In addition we have all the new Mother&Baby range of moses, next to me, cot and cot bed mattresses.
The launch is about a cleaner, fresher, healthier, sleep environment guaranteed.
In addition we have the new Mother&Baby GOTS pure organic cotton gold collection of feeding, and nursing support pillows for mother and baby alike. Please feel free to contact us for more details.
Have you currently got good stock levels to meet supply demand and the logistics in place to aim for smooth delivery? Yes, we have a full logistics service and Logistics company, this coupled with our large facility means we can cope with any scenario.
Do you feel that you may have any stock issues on the horizon and, if so, how will you seek to overcome these?
We ran out of stock completely on doona. We are expecting more stock ASAP so you can pre-order now if necessary,
What’s your online presence and social media set-up like? Do you plan on boosting this presence in the weeks to come?
We have an amazing social media presence which supports our brands. We have a plethora of bloggers, influencers and celebrities who use and contribute to our programme.
We are also about to run a #Heroes campaign too, so please look out for it on our social media. We are giving away some free baby products to recognise your local hero who are keyworkers at this challenging time. The nomination can be anyone in the keyworker category: delivery drivers, NHS, shop assistants, carers, emergency services etc. Please look for the post and nominate someone you may know.
How will you continue to drive awareness to your product ranges?
Through our social media channels, Nursery Today, Mother&Baby magazine and our fantastic independent customer base.
How could Nursery Today assist you? Is there particular content you would like to see us cover both in the magazine, via our website or social media channels – we’re here to help where we can.
Just be yourselves, you do a great job!
Tel 0161 702 5062
Email: sales@cuddleco.co.uk
www.cuddleco.co.uk
