European sales at the ride-on suitcase manufacturer have declined by over a third since Brexit, founder Rob Law has told The Times.
In 2019, two thirds of Trunki’s £8.7 million sales were generated from exports, with over a third of that number sold to the EU.
Founder Rob Law, said the first six months bought the most problems: “We couldn’t get stock into Europe. From the initial massive tailback of trucks at the border, to backlogs of goods at our customers’ warehouses and trucks queueing up for hours and then getting turned away.
Rob said it now costs £5 more per products to ship to Europe in order for the logistics carriers to manage the paperwork. He also reports that it now takes five days, compared with the two days it took prior to Brexit.
Trunki has made changes to try and overcome the challenges, and has closed its UK warehouse and uses distributors on the continent instead. Rob explained: “That means we employ fewer British people to help us with logistics because of Brexit.”
The staffing numbers at Trunki have fallen by 62 since 2019 and the company thanks its UK manufacturing for saving it from the shipping crisis. Rob concluded: “If we weren’t manufacturing in Britain, we’d be dead and gone.”
