Stocks Manchester sees sales surge after move

A £1m investment in a new warehouse and office this year has sparked a boom in sales for a North West wholesaler.

Stocks Manchester moved to a new 60,000 sq ft base in Trafford Park in January, allowing it to unite the head office which was previously in Altrincham with its warehouse in Bury.

The company buys surplus consumers goods, such as DVDs from the likes of Fox Entertainment, pottery brand Royal Doulton and hairdresser Trevor Sorbie, and then re-sells it to discount retailers such as 99p stores and TK Maxx.

Commercial director Michael Josephson said Stocks Manchester, which has 25 staff, is confident of growing turnover from £6.2m last year to more than £8m next year.

He said: “The move has enabled us to have more warehousing space to house our extensive range of  branded products which includes homeware, beauty, toys  and electrical goods.

“We buy from all over the world and sell to customers across the UK and into Europe. We are growing rapidly as there is strong consumer demand for branded goods at low prices – that is why our customers – the value retailers are seeing such strong growth.

“We have just relaunched our website as a multi-lingual site because we are doing more business in Europe and want keep growing there.”

Mr Josephson, 37, runs the business along with managing director Jack Caplin.

The investment in the new base included buying the premises and refurbishing it, and was supported by NatWest.