Milestones - 2010
September
September will see yet more branches opening… Aldershot, Northampton, Liverpool, Balham will all go live along with a second branch in central Bristol. The new Bristol branch will also become a regional hub, providing support to ECP branches in South West England and South Wales from its stock of 40,000 different parts, four times a day.
ECP are proud to be appointed as sole supplier of batteries, car parts and consumables stock to RAC’s 1,800 Patrol Vans. In addition to this, a unique roadside delivery service will help RAC to provide an even higher first-time fix rate (already the UK’s best) to RAC members.
August
August see's two of the most momentous events in ECP's history ... so far!
Firstly, ECP signs an agreement with Mr. Robert Hanser (Worldwide Head of Robert Bosch’s Aftermarket Division) to be the exclusive UK distributor of the Bosch AutoCrew garage concept designed for UK independent garages. Look out for more news of this unique programme which will deliver major business opportunities to the IMT in Britain.
The 400,000 sq ft National Distribution Centre in Tamworth is nearing completion and the phased roll-out is due to start in September by supplying overnight stock orders to some of ECP's 85+ strong branch network, 6 nights per week, from a stock range of over 110,000 different parts. This is another example of ECP investing heavily in the long term future of the business.
July
June's record was matched in July with 5 new branches in Gloucester, Plymouth, Tunbridge Wells, Tamworth and an expanded branch in Newcastle. Newcastle also became a Regional Hub, providing 4 times a day support to ECP branches in North East England from the widest stock range in Britain.
June
ECP opens a record 5 new branches in a single month, taking the network to over 80 sites. We are now ready to serve garages and bodyshops from brand new sites in Crayford (Kent), Carlisle, Warrington, Wolverhampton and Leeds. Work continues to gather pace at the NDC in Tamworth with all the preparations for stock nearing completion. ECP's investment in the future of the company is starting to take shape. Here comes the stock....
May
Euro Car Parts sales race ahead… Now with sales projected at over £260 million for 2010, ECP are by far the largest car and van parts distributor in the UK. We thank our customers, suppliers and staff for making this possible.
Sukhpal Singh (CEO, Euro Car Parts) and Robert Hanser (Worldwide Head of Robert Bosch’s Aftermarket Division) were both delighted to have signed the letter of intent for ECP to roll out the BOSCH AutoCrew garage programme in the UK. Over 2,000 garages will be appointed by ECP as part of this concept which is already incredibly successful in Europe. History will show this to be a major development in the UK aftermarket as well as a landmark in the partnership between ECP and BOSCH.
Our Wembley HQ team was also delighted to welcome a visit from Sir Tom Farmer CBE, the founder of Kwik-Fit and one of the greatest innovators in the world automotive aftermarket. Sir Tom was impressed by the scale and energy of the operation and was delighted to say some great words of encouragement to ECP's national sales teams who were training in Wembley.
ECP were also delighted to have won the prestigious Bosch Sales Excellence Award, presented to us at the awards ceremony in Turkey, earlier this month.
Finally, on May 24th, 300 Customers visited ECP HQ for one of the truly great ECP events in ECP history. The customers visited the head office as our guests, before heading over to Wembley Stadium to watch England beat Mexico 3-1! As well as getting a ticket to England's last home game before the World Cup, customers were also hosted in great style with food, drinks and music. A marquee was erected in the car park where customer and staff mingled after being shown round the head office facilities, warehouse and logistics.
April
Our latest branch and regional hub opens in Crawley, providing support to ECP branches throughout Surrey, S London, Kent, Sussex and Hampshire. Local garage customers are delighted with the fast delivery service and availability of 40,000 different parts in stock.
Crawley is the first of a network of 9 Regional Hubs which will provide a minimum of 4 times a day service on specialist parts to ECP’s fast-expanding branch network.
March
ECP announce the launch of our 400,000 sq ft National Distribution Centre in Tamworth. This brand new purpose built facility, close to the Midlands motorways and a rail freight container depot, will support our growing network of branches and regional hubs. When fully operational in late July, it will provide overnight stock orders to every ECP branch, 6 nights per week, from a stock range of over 110,000 different parts.
February
The Euro Car Parts Board sign off an ambitious 3 year development plan. Resources are in place to double ECP’s market share and greatly strengthen its branch network, product ranges and marketing programmes.
January
Jan 4th, 2010 and the doors open for business at Edmonton, North London. All of the 10 newly opened branches are doing well despite the bad weather.
Company sales now running at £230million annualised.
