FMCG manufacturer and distributor DCS Group marks its 30th birthday this month, with plans to continue its expansion and reach annual sales of £500m in the coming years.
Denys Shortt, the company’s Founder and Chairman, said: “It is great to celebrate a milestone such as this, taking time to briefly pause and reflect on 30 years of successive growth. However, we are all about the future at DCS and looking forward to our next decade of growth.
“The past 30 years have proven to me time and again the need to continually invest for growth, in people, space and technology. In doing so, we have seen DCS grow to £350m, employing 550 people. Over the past decade, we have made big investments across both of our sites. We moved from Stratford to Banbury in 2017 and now occupy a 26-acre site right on the M40. The opportunity to purchase a site like this in terms of location, space, and capacity to expand would be almost impossible now. From the outset, I have believed strongly in owning and managing our warehouse operations, and we have built several new facilities on site, which gives us over 300,000 sq. ft, with the opportunity to increase when we need, which we will.”
Continued growth will come from DCS Group’s position as the approved UK distributor for leading FMCG brands such as P&G, Reckitt, Unilever, and Colgate-Palmolive. The firm’s CEO, Michael Lorimer, said: “In our sales and distribution division, we have the privilege to service the majority of household, health, and beauty brands. Our channel, and category insight and expertise are what enables DCS to be the sustainable and efficient route to market.”
Heading into its fourth decade of trading, DCS Group stated that it is taking its sales and distribution expertise to the next level, into categories beyond household, health, and beauty. Simon Whitehead, DCS Group Chief Revenue Officer, commented: “We help suppliers reduce carbon emissions and road miles by consolidating multiple brands and orders onto one lorry. This is of mutual benefit and helps suppliers and customers improve their efficiency. We act as a one-stop-shop for multiple brands, with an accessible minimum order value.
“We are eager to use our experience and knowledge to target adjacent categories. We already service the consumer healthcare and pet care categories, and we will expand our category portfolio even further as we move into our fourth decade.”
Beyond sales and distribution, the company’s manufacturing division makes brands along with own-label personal care products for many of the major supermarkets, high street health & beauty stores, and discounters. The company has recently doubled the size of its own-label business with one of the UK’s biggest discounters.
Shortt said: “I am particularly proud of what we have achieved at DCS Manufacturing in Redditch, which is the most modern liquid fill facility in the UK, and where we produce for many well-known high street and discount retailers. It was a big investment decision and not easy to start and scale a manufacturing business, but we have created 150 jobs here and the future pipeline looks very positive. It is a long way from the factory I set up in Stratford to manufacture our Enliven brand in 2007.”
Whitehead added: “We are trusted to manufacture products for the UK’s leading personal care brands, retailers, and discounters. We also have Enliven, our brand, which is distributed into the convenience, wholesale, discount, retail, pharmacy, and global export channels. In addition, Enliven products can now be found in 55,000 Travelodge bedrooms up and down the country.
“Our manufacturing process is second to none, and offers end-to-end product development, from initial concept to final delivery. We are building partnerships with market-leading brands on a daily basis and delivering exactly what they need, when they need it. We pride ourselves in being able to adapt to new challenges and opportunities.
“The DCS Co-Pack Division adds further adaptability and flexibility too. We can create bespoke packs in-house at short notice, making it quick and easy for suppliers to react to new opportunities in the market. For example, we create new PMPs to help convenience stores offer price confidence to their shoppers, and new multipacks for discounters to offer better value and a point of difference.”
Lorimer continued: “Our growth means we have scale, but we do maintain a constant focus on flexibility. We are big enough to be efficient and reliable but are equally responsive and innovative. We are in a strong position to help retailers who may be looking for a manufacturing partner for their own label or tertiary brand personal care products. Similarly, large suppliers or brands who are potentially looking for a distribution partner to service more complex parts of the market.”
Shortt concluded: “DCS encourages an ethos of constructive discontent, and so while we are delighted to be celebrating 30 years of successive growth, we are stretching for the future and asking ourselves what will we look like at end of this decade? Both my team and I have a good idea of what that should look like, but for now I can share the next obvious milestone, which is £500m, and it is in clear sight.”
NAM Implications:
- Denys’s next milestone has to be at least worth a ‘what if’ by rivals…
