Distributor Net 1on1 has announced a wide-ranging restructure which includes a move to new premises, the appointment of a new managing director and the separation of the company’s retail arm from its wholesale business. The distribution side of the company will now be headed up by MD Tony Gonzales from its new warehouse in West Sussex while Farebrother will focus his attention on the newly renamed retail operation, With A Passion, which was formerly known as Sextoys.co.uk.
The company says the restructure is the first bold step in a proactive plan to revitalise both sides of the business, and that new protocols will be put into place which will see service at both retail and trade levels become more responsive. Trade customers will still deal with the same sales team, which will be based at a new HQ in St Albans.
Dean Farebrother [pictured] commented: “I’ve been running the business for over 13 years now and have had many ideas to develop better operations on both the trade and retail sides of the business. Unfortunately these ideas have had to sit on the back burner while all of my time and efforts were invested into running this ever-growing beast as a whole. It soon became apparent, as both sides of the business grew, that I was going to need to change the way things were being run in order to grow positively and stay ahead of the game. The industry has fast developed over the past few years and with it comes more than just providing a service or website – there are trends to monitor and adapt to, product to be developing and brands to be nurturing. To do this at both trade and consumer level was becoming a mammoth task so I made the decision to appoint Tony Gonzalez to head up the wholesale and dropshipping services while I concentrate on retail side of the business.”
Gonzalez said: “I am really excited to be taking the reins of Net 1on1 Wholesale from Dean, helping him to realise his plans to develop the retail side of the business further. After working with Net 1on1 for over five years, I am well-rehearsed in how Dean works and sees the business progressing.”
The restructure was not without issues though, as Gonzales explained: “We seized the chance to make the transition over the Christmas holiday period, mindful to make the least amount of disruption to service as possible. We are aware there have been some teething issues, which are to be expected with a move of this magnitude, but in the long run we will be able to offer a higher level of service to our customers. We have also been extremely lucky to find a solution to our stock processing, making the move and partnership a perfect fit.”
Although the business will be separating into two halves, with different company names, Farebrother will be in partnership with Gonzalez, utilizing the existing staff team. The company says that customers can now look forward to a steady stream of improvements to service as the year progresses. In a joint statement, Farebrother and Gonzales said: “We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience or confusion caused due to the move, and to reassure customers, clients and peers in the industry that business will be running as usual. We would like to thank those who have already shown support at this time of change and look forward to an exciting 2014 ahead.”
Net 1on1’s new office address is Tyttenhanger House, Coursers Road, Colney Heath, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0PG and its telephone number remains 08451 662805. Its warehouse is now located at Unit 2, Harbour Way Industrial Park, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5HZ.
