A gifting company acquired five years ago by the Lanchester Group is racking up record orders for the Christmas period after relocating to the region.
When the County Durham group acquired Spicers of Hythe Ltd in 2016 it was already totting up sales of £5m with its luxury hampers, having started out from a small shop in the Kent coastal market town in 1926.
During the pandemic however, Stanley-based Lanchester Group – which also owns the Lanchester Wines, Greencroft Bottling, Lanchester Energy and Full Circle Brewery businesses – relocated the business from Kent to Gateshead, taking over a 140,000 sq ft facility.
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The online retailer of hampers for the corporate gifting market doubled its workforce, creating over 65 new permanent and temporary roles in the region and generating a turnover in excess of £13m.
A record run of orders ahead of this Christmas will see 42,469 Christmas cakes, 86,276 mince pies, 69,306 bottles of prosecco and 21,006 Santa sacks flying out the door of the so-called ‘Santa’s workshop’ in Felling, making it one of the country’s biggest hamper companies.
The company now has plans to grow to £20m in the next five years, making investments of £500,000 in IT and warehouse operations and a further £200,000 into print and IT technology.
Ruth Peyton, director of gifts at Lanchester Group, said: “Last year we saw a surge in online hamper sales due to the pandemic, as companies had to cancel Christmas parties and send a gift to clients and staff remotely.
“This year, although life is slowly returning to normal, with Covid restrictions still a possibility over the winter, many companies are deciding to postpone big staff parties again and we are already seeing hampers under the taxable benefit threshold of £50 soar as employee gifts.”
Laid end to end, the hampers Spicers will produce this year would stretch from its facility on Nest Road, Felling to Northallerton, or three-fifths of the way along Hadrian’s Wall.
Ms Peyton said: “Spicers has been in business for 95 years, and corporate gifts has changed dramatically over the years.
"Back in 1981 our best seller was our traditional Christmas gift hamper and in 1991 our cheese board was popular, however today prosecco and chocolate remains a top seller.
“This year we have seen an increase in demand for healthier, low alcohol gifts so we have brought in a new alcohol-free bubbly hamper to cater for this trend.”
