Fast growth in ever-expanding global markets, and the need to serve its retail and online clients in Asian markets, drove home furnishings retailer Cath Kidston to approach SEKO for a solution. Cath Kidston chose to partner with SEKO, expanding an already successful relationship that managed the company’s inbound business from Asia to the UK and its distribution centers in Hong Kong and Shanghai supplying its international franchises. Distributing in Japan, however, was very different to any direct market Cath Kidston had dealt with before.
The closer packaging facilities are to manufacturing operations, distribution centers, or end destinations, the more cost effectively you can transport products.
Henry Philips, CEO of HAVA Logistics Inc.
SEKO’s solution was to implement a full distribution service for Cath Kidston with product dispatches twice weekly to all 27 stores across eight regions. SEKO shipped 370,000 units of stock from its Hong Kong DC in the lead-up to the reopening of the stores, using dedicated vehicles to fully stock each store within a 24-hour window. To eliminate any delays, SEKO also installed x-ray equipment to meet Japan’s strict quality control requirements.
With every store opening its doors to the public on time, Cath Kidston called on SEKO’s support again for the opening of a further two stores in Japan, with both ready for the Spring-Summer 2016 product preview. Japan is now Cath Kidston’s biggest market outside of the UK. The relationship is set to continue with more new stores in the pipeline.
