Welch &Tidy accelerates launch of Rex Brown online ordering and delivery service to cater to Sarum customers.
Following the news that Sarum Wholesale has entered administration, Welch & Tidy brought forward the full launch of its new Rex Brown website, from the end of next month to this week.

The site - www.rexbrownltd.co.uk - is fully transactional, allowing retailers to browse and order from 12,000 lines. The site has been in development for the past nine months and launched to existing Rex Brown customers on February 1. It represents a £60,000 investment for the Perivale-based business.

Following Sarum's withdrawal from the market Rex Brown took the decision to extend its own delivery area to include Hampshire and Wiltshire. The company will now deliver to these counties as well as London, Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, all with a minimum order of £100.

Rex Brown will still service retailers outside of this area, but delivery will be handles by a third party and a sliding scale of delivery charges will apply.

Welch & Tidy director Ashmeet Kandhari said of the move: "With retailers having to work harder and harder in the current climate, support from their wholesalers is vital to their success. When a wholesaler like Sarum exits the market suddenly it can have a very real effect on retail customers and dent their performance. This is especially true in the run up to the start of the busy gardening season. By bringing the launch of our new online delivery service forward, Rex Brown is offering those retailers affected by Sarum entering administration an easy way to order, a continuity of service and support in this transitional period."