Whitecroft Lighting Post Brexit Impact Statement

January 2021

 

Dear Customer,

May I take this opportunity to wish all of our customers a happy and prosperous new year.

COVID-19 continues to be the centre of our attention and ensuring all of our employees are working in a safe and Covid free environment. Since returning to work on January 4th we have also been monitoring the ramifications of the UKs exit from the EU and the potential impact this may have on the supply and price of component parts and finished goods.

In preparation for a potential hard Brexit Whitecroft had increased our European sourced critical component parts stock and this will continue to give us protection for some time to come. We also continue to be well positioned to mitigate continued supply issues with over 90% of products and 50% of component parts manufactured and sourced within the UK.

Manufacturing Stats for Brexit

Early indications are that we are experiencing a more general worldwide issue around the availabity and movement of goods. This is primarily driven by increased documentation at ports, but also a worldwide shortage of shipping containers that has led to a significant increase in both sea and airfreight costs.

These additional costs and increases in operational costs due to Covid are starting to impact the price of raw materials and component parts.  Our commitment to UK sourcing continues to mitigate much of this additional cost, however we have initiated a review of our pricing and we anticipate prices rising by approximately 2% during the 1st qtr. of 2021. Please note that we have limited the price increase to a minimum through improved production efficiency and many of our most popular and fast moving products will not be increasing in price.

Whitecroft’s investments in UK manufacturing and sourcing will ensure that it is ideally placed to continue to provide excellent service to the construction industry. However, this type of short-term challenge can always best be met through a shared commitment to a long term and sustainable partnership. As such, if you do have any further concerns or just wish to talk through some of the key issues please do not hesitate to contact me or any of the Whitecroft team on the numbers below.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

David Serif

Commercial Director

 

Technical Support: 0161 331 5791

Lighting Design: 0161 331 5820

Commercial/Order Support: 0161 331 5882

Aftersales: 0161 331 5851