2021 Recap

Showroom expansion

This year, we converted the back of our store, our former warehouse, into the caravan awning section of our showroom. The third national lockdown gave us the chance to move our stock to a new warehouse, and remodel this part of our store. This expansion has opened up the store, allows us to showcase far more caravan awnings, including ranges which we haven’t been able to show before, and gives us more space for customers to explore our showroom. This section of our showroom has been open for 6 months now, and the space was greatly appreciated during our crazy summer season!

Website

With all the lockdowns, 2021 was the perfect time to focus on our website, and 2021 has been the busiest year yet for our website and websales team! In February of 2021 we moved out of the in-store warehouse to a separate area to keep up with the demand for orders, and in May of 2021 we moved again to our own separate on-site warehouse and office. The website certainly kept us busy throughout the lockdowns (and for the rest of the year!), and our expansion has meant we are able to offer far more stock online, fast turnaround times, and excellent customer care.

Staff

Customer care, and positive customer experiences are extremely important to us, and something we prioritise. Therefore, to enhance customers instore experience we have expanded our team to increase staff availability. When we are busy it is important that there are staff on hand to offer support and advice to our customers, whilst also ensuring that the phone queries are being answered, and sales can be processed. We have also employed more ‘behind the scenes’ staff to deal with queries, aftercare, and website related aid for customers. Our team is always growing, and positive customer experiences and caring for customers is at the heart of everything we do.

Packing and Shipping Orders

Another area that we really wanted to prioritise in 2021 was our online order experience – specifically, the packing and shipping of orders. Being environmentally friendly is so important to us, so we made the conscious decision to reuse all of our boxes and packing materials. This has been a great success, and every order that we have despatched has been sent in a reused box.

We also wanted to streamline our delivery process, so have minimised the number of couriers we use. Additionally, wherever possible we use DPD to ensure that customers have access to tracking details and are able to be completely up to date with their order at every step, from when we label it to when it arrives at their home.

Goals for 2022

Now, as we look forward into the New Year and what’s to come, we have so many exciting things happening in-store and online that we can’t wait to share with our customers!

Our New Stock System

In January of 2022, we will be installing a new stock system both in-store and online. This system will increase both our internal efficiency and accuracy, and make shopping with us even more seamless for our customers. We hope that this will make communication across the business easier, whilst also ensuring that our stock system is more accurate and that stock is more readily available for your purchases, however you choose to shop with us.

Our New Showroom

In 2022, we will be opening our newest showroom; a 25m x 30m marquee. This will allow us to increase our display range of tents, awnings, and accessories. So we will be able to hold increased stock of products and offer new ones on display. We hope that this will not only enhance the experience of shopping with us in-store, but that it will also make our showroom the largest indoor tent and awning showroom in the UK. We will also be introducing touchscreen monitors across our store to enhance customer experience and allow you to get a better look at our range of products.

With our new stock system and showroom, our stock availability should be far greater and more consistent for both websales and indoor sales as this will allow for more regular restocks and greater capacity to hold products!

Our carpark

In 2022 we will also be having a carpark remodel! If you’ve visited us recently you may have noticed that some changes have already started taking place. We have gotten rid of our playground area and are in the process of replacing that space with electric charging points as part of our bid to be more eco-friendly that we started last year with the changes to our postage and packaging system. Also, we have nearly completed our new delivery entrance, there will soon be a separate entrance to our site for all delivery vehicles so that there will be no lorries or large vans driving through our carpark, making it a safer place for our customers.

Thank you for all of your support in 2021, we couldn't have gotten through without our customers. We look forward to implementing these changes and to seeing you all, whether that be in-store, online, or over the phone, to help make your outdoor adventures the best they can possibly be!