Clipper Logistics on road to huge growth

Owner Steve Parkin has appointed advisers to review options for the future funding of the Leeds-based company, which turns over nearly 200m and employs close to 3,000 staff. "There will definitely be something happening," he said yesterday. "It's what road we take." He also revealed that the company has won a 25m contract with John Lewis, to handle logistics for the retailer's online fashion offering. Mr Parkin, 49, founded Clipper as a haulage business in 1992 with a team of three and one van driver. The company won a number of important contracts in the early years with retailers such as Huddersfield-based Bon Marche and Sir Philip Green which helped it establish a strong foothold in the transportation, haulage and warehousing market. The company has also made a number of acquisitions in recent years. Clipper invested heavily in IT systems to take a growing share of the lucrative online shopping market. Third-party logistics for online sales – known as e-fulfilment – will account for 20 per cent of group turnover by next year, according to business forecasts. The company is set to handle 400 million clothing garments this year – a significant proportion of all clothing bought in the UK. It has hired Argyll Partners, a London-based corporate financier which specialises in retail and consumer sectors, to consider options for the group. Mr Parkin said: "We would like to see how the next few months of trading goes. We are trading very strongly at the moment. We need to make sure that extrapolates out over three or months. We will have a clearer idea then. I have to make sure what I'm doing is right for the people we employ." He said Clipper has enjoyed "fantastic" growth, despite the economic downturn, and has a healthy pipeline of new contracts. "We are innovative. We think outside the box. We don't just run trucks and sheds," he added, citing the e-fulfilment arm and plans for a distribution centre at Teesport. Following the agreement with John Lewis, the company will manage product despatch, returns and all garment handling for 140,000 stock-keeping units from its centre at Ollerton, South Yorkshire. Dino Rocas, director of distribution for John Lewis, said the deal would enable the retailer to meet customer demand during peak seasons with confidence. "Online fashion is the fastest-growing area of the business and we have seen volumes increase by 28 per cent this month year-on-year, and we are looking forward to benefiting from Clipper's efficient and scaleable solution," he added. Clipper's other customers include Leeds-based Asda, Tesco, Gap, Animal, Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Urban Outfitters and Aurora Fashions, which owns Karen Millen, Coast, Warehouse and Oasis. It has 32 UK and European distribution centres, around 3.5m sq ft of warehousing space and a fleet of 650 vehicles. A step closer to achieving dream One of Steve Parkin's long-held ambitions has been to become chairman of a public company. "I've had that dream since I was a young boy," the former van driver told the Yorkshire Post in 2008. That aspiration took a step closer to reality after Mr Parkin appointed Argyll Partners to advise him on future funding for the business's growth plans. This could lead to the introduction of an equity partner or a float on the Alternative Investment Market, he said yesterday. A lifelong Leeds United fan, Mr Parkin was part of the consortium behind a failed attempt to take over the club in 2004.