Charles Bentley have been manufacturing wooden brushes and brooms since 1860 and are one of the oldest businesses in Loughborough, today operating a vibrant ecommerce business in the home, garden and leisure sector. And yes, if you visit their factory you can still see workers manufacturing millions of broom heads each year and it’s fascinating to see the speed bristles can be inserted into a brush!
But the business has changed beyond all recognition, with the sixth generation of the family represented by Andrew Steel who is their Ecommerce Director. And the past few years have been challenging to say the least – we last visited Andrew in 2019 and since then we’ve had a pandemic, energy crisis, wars in Europe and the Middle East and multiple shipping challenges caused by a Suez Canal blockage and pirates in the Red Sea.
Add on to the supply chain and economic challenges, Charles Bentley have pivoted from being a traditional manufacturer supplying wholesale customers to drop ship models, a burgeoning D2C business and the launch of multiple marketplace channels along with a huge overseas sourcing and manufacturing operation for their ever expanding range of products – Today you can buy anything from a kitchen bin to a BBQ and garden furniture set…. as well as of course your new garden broom.
We spoke to Andrew to discuss these challenges and today we can also announce that he will be speaking at ChannelX World – you can get your ticket here.
In this video you will find:
- 00:00 Introducing Andrew Steel, Ecommerce Director at Charles Bentley
- 01:23 Pivoting from manufacturer to branded retailer
- 02:44 Balancing D2C, marketplaces and retail channels
- 04:39 Addressing supply chain challenges and risk management
- 06:15 Ecommerce forecast for the year ahead
- 07:43 Growing Charles Bentley home/garden/leisure offers
