After the success of PenCarrie's "Sneak Previews" in Birmingham and Ireland last year, a much expanded programme of PenCarrie On Tour events has been planned for November.

"When we established our Business Development Team early in 2007 we quickly realised how much our customers appreciated the team's personal visits to them," explains David Abrahams, marketing manager.

"These meant we were much better able to highlight the practical support we could offer our customers in their day-to-day business dealings. The ‘PenCarrie On Tour' programme is an extension of this personal service linked specifically to what is new for the coming year, to give customers a head start for 2010.

"It also gives customers an excellent opportunity to meet the brands and the PenCarrie team."

At each On Tour venue all the new products that PenCarrie will be stocking for 2010 will be showcased; many involving innovative designs and new technologies. Brand representatives will be on hand to give full details and to answer any technical or other questions visitors may have.

There will also be a "PenCarrie Zone" with members of the Business Development, Marketing, Customer Services, and Warehouse teams ready to chat about the support available and the added value this gives to PenCarrie customers.

Each On Tour occasion is designed for maximum convenience to visitors: people can call at the venue of their choice at whatever time suits them best (refreshments will be available throughout the day).    

PenCarrie customers will receive personal invitations and members of the Business Development Team are providing extra detail about specific events during their regular visits to garment decorators.   

Registration is also available via the dedicated website www.pencarrieontour.com or by contacting Alice Parsons in PenCarrie's marketing department (email alice@pencarrie.com or phone 012392 202412).

Introducing the PenCarrie On Tour venues:

All the venues have been selected for their accessibility as well as for their excellent ambiance. A flavour of each is given below.

Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh

Tuesday, November 10

The 2009 series of PenCarrie On Tour events starts in Edinburgh at the leading earth science centre, Dynamic Earth. This overlooks the rocky slopes and cliffs of the extinct volcano, Arthurs Seat, and has stunning 360 degree views across Edinburgh's picturesque cityscape and Holyrood Royal Park.   

City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Wednesday, November 11

The second stop for On Tour is the home of Premier League football club Manchester City.    An impressive stadium, it is the fifth largest in the FA Premier League and the twelfth largest in the UK. Guests can expect to be amazed by this impressive arena which was the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Northampton Rugby Club, Northampton

Thursday, November 12

Franklin's Gardens, home of Northampton Saints Rugby Club, marks the half-way point of the On Tour experience. Northampton Saints are the current holders of the European Challenge Cup and their home ground is synonymous with British rugby.

Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham

Friday, November 13

The HQ of English Rugby, Twickenham Stadium is the penultimate stop for PenCarrie On Tour. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the UK and the scene of many memorable rugby battles.

Exeter Chiefs Rugby Ground, Exeter

Thursday, November 19

The final On Tour 2009 venue is on PenCarrie's home soil. Sandy Park is the base of the Exeter Chiefs Rugby team. Their brand new stadium is right on PenCarrie's doorstep ... and so it is only natural that there will also be the opportunity to visit PenCarrie's Exeter HQ. It's a rare chance to see exactly how customer orders are processed; to tour the warehouse with its tailor-made, state-of-the-art systems; and to appreciate the enormous volume of stock that is available for immediate despatch. A visit to PenCarrie means you will also meet many more members of PenCarrie's friendly team, in all departments.

Focus on the Business Development Team

PenCarrie's business development team was established in early 2007 under the leadership of business development manager, Graham Burgess.  The team now comprises Graham Burgess, Hannah Tooze, Louise Coombes, Charlie Berry and (the newest recruit who joined in May this year) Cheryl Douglas.   

They spend their time visiting customers to learn at first hand what they need from PenCarrie.   

This information is then fed back to the sourcing, marketing and IT teams, so that the service levels and facilities that PenCarrie offers are the best they can be for each individual account.   

They are also happy to assist with the demonstration of PenCarrie's ebrochure, blank website and online order pad as well as other marketing tools designed to help customers in their day-to-day business dealings.   

Graham and his team also work closely with the (now more than 50) brands that PenCarrie stocks in order to keep customers fully informed of product and brand developments. While out and about they also look for any new opportunities in the market place and keep PenCarrie abreast of significant trends.

PenCarrie's business development team covers the whole of the UK. Hannah Tooze looks after customers in the South West and Wales; Louise Coombes' customers are in the South East; and Graham Burgess takes care of those in the central region.   

Moving northwards, Charlie focuses on the north-west of England, including customers located around the M62 corridor; and Cheryl keeps in close touch with customers in the north-east of England and Scotland.

Meet Cheryl Douglas

Cheryl is the newest member of PenCarrie's Business Development Team. Having spent a number of years working within clothing manufacturing and retail in the UK, Cheryl moved to the other side of the world and spent five years achieving significant sales success in Australia and New Zealand.   

Many of her achievements during her time ‘down under' relate specifically to the development of customers' businesses by understanding their needs and managing their accounts appropriately.   

This is the skill that PenCarrie looks for in every member of its business development team. It means working partnerships can be forged between PenCarrie and those customers keen to make the most of the opportunities that exist. 

Cheryl has also had first hand experience here in the UK of promotional clothing linked to sports sponsorship. She successfully developed both professional and replica kits for a major rugby union football club and profitably implemented a retail marketing strategy through the club shop, mail order, e commerce, regional retailers, major club sponsors' partnerships, local rugby clubs and schools.

Cheryl is now well underway with making initial visits to existing and prospective PenCarrie customers and is looking forward to helping them develop their businesses.

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