British heritage brand Denby Pottery has launched direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce capabilities into 29 European markets, in partnership with ESW, ending years of post-Brexit trading challenges.
Denby Pottery prides itself on the strength and craftsmanship of its stoneware, which it has made on-site in Derbyshire, England, for more than 200 years. During the height of the industrial revolution, a Derbyshire potter pioneered and patented new methods for firing the strong, local clay. Those skills and attention to detail are still alive today, with each piece of Denby passing through at least 20 pairs of hands before getting the Denby quality stamp, preserving important traditional hand-crafting techniques and local craftsmanship.
Denby Pottery’s provenance, unique brand story, and catalogue of hand-crafted premium products – which includes timeless English heritage collections alongside more contemporary ranges – attract a large and loyal customer base. From pottery collectors to British ex-pats who are familiar with the brand, to younger customers who recognise its Halo cup from the Netflix show Squid Game, Denby’s key markets include South Korea, China, India, United States and Europe which, pre-Brexit, accounted for a sizable proportion of revenue.
However, since Britain’s exit from the European single market in 2021, Denby had been challenged by the complexity of meeting new regulations required to get its products into the Eurozone. The result was a poor customer experience, increased delivery costs and reduced revenue after the brand had to pull out of key European markets, including Spain which had been a strong market for Denby Pottery.
Its small internal team worked closely with DPD and ESW to find a solution to address some of these issues. Paula Bullas, Head of Digital at Denby Pottery, explains: “As a premium product range with a higher average order value, many of our orders exceeded the tax and duty threshold for Europe. We tried adjusting the pricing for EU customers to offset the costs of tax and duty fees, but we knew this wasn’t a great customer experience and often customers didn’t read the detail so were left with a bad taste when they had to pay these fees on delivery.”
Denby chose ESW as its European expansion partner because of its expertise in overcoming Brexit-related trading challenges. In just 10 weeks, ESW implemented localised e-commerce checkouts across 29 European markets, displaying all pricing—including duties and taxes – in local currencies ensuring no surprise charges are added either at checkout or on delivery.
Additionally, ESW resolved Denby’s customs compliance issues, allowing it to reactivate its key Spanish market.
The new checkout was launched at the end of April 2024 and Bullas noted that the customer experience immediately improved. European order values increased as customers were more confident putting items into their baskets knowing there would be no additional fees. Looking ahead, Denby Pottery will work with ESW to further unlock the potential of European markets while exploring the next stage of global expansion.
“Denby Pottery is a premium brand, and our team put huge effort into ensuring we deliver an exceptional quality product for our discerning customers. Our partnership with ESW means that, after several years of post-Brexit challenges, we are now able to provide a seamless customer experience to our European customers, which is vital to growing lifetime value with loyal customers while also meeting the high customer service and delivery expectations of the next generation of Denby customers,” Bullas remarked.
Martim Avillez Oliveira, Global Chief Revenue Officer at ESW, commented: “Retailers and brands just like Denby Pottery are tired of the costs and headaches that Brexit has brought – yet pulling out of the Eurozone is not an option for brands that want to grow. Working with the right cross-border partner brings expertise, established relationships and economies of scale to the table. We are delighted to have been able to enable Denby to reactivate its crucial European markets, and the resulting revenue, so quickly.”
