PenCarrie celebrates 25 years of business in the heart of Devon

Mid-Devon based garment distributor PenCarrie celebrated last month with a party to mark its 25th year in business.

Starting out on Marsh Barton Trading Estate in Exeter before moving to Sowton Industrial Estate and now based in Willand, PenCarrie is a truly local business, set up and still owned by Paul Persey and his family. The business is one of the largest trade suppliers to the garment decoration industry in the country and is a large employer in Devon.

When the company was set up 1991, its first warehouse was just 350sq m and it distributed just one product. The company soon grew out of that space and in 1992 had to move on to bigger premises. 1993 saw the production of PenCarrie’s first brochure – at just 12 pages and with hand drawn illustrations of the garments.

Now in its 25th year, PenCarrie is based on South View industrial estate in Willand, has nearly 200 employees, distributes on behalf of over 80 brands, and has an 800 page brochure. Nicci Gratwicke, daughter of founder Paul Persey, is now a director along with her two sisters Clare Persey and Sarah Irving, and is very excited to be continuing the family’s legacy and its place in the Devon community into the future.

Managing Director, Tony Lock, says: ‘PenCarrie was founded on the ethos of delivering exceptional customer service and prides itself on its family values. All employees, brand contacts and customers are treated as individuals and like extended members of the PenCarrie family.’

Andrea Charteris, Customer Services Manager, also celebrates 25 years with the company this year, making her the longest serving employee. Since joining the company to lend an extra pair of hands in the summer of 1991, Andrea has seen PenCarrie develop and grow into the successful company it is today. Commenting on her time with the company, she says: ‘This is a great place to work. Many of our customers have now become friends. We are very lucky at PenCarrie, you have to work hard to get it but we have a very good relationship with our customers and a very good level of respect and appreciation. We get a lot of love from our customers and I think it’s because we show it to them.’

The company celebrated this momentous occasion on Saturday 25th June in Torquay with a team lunch followed by a range of activities – from paddle boarding to wine tasting – followed by an evening of dinner, dancing and fireworks. The celebrations were a great success and it certainly was a party to remember.

Tony adds: ‘We’re immensely proud to be celebrating this, our 25th year in business, and are delighted that so many of our colleagues from Team PenCarrie were able to celebrate with us. It was a great way to say ‘thank you’ and to show the appreciation that I and the management team have for the continued effort of the whole company.’