County Durham craft retailer plans new US HQ as revenues near $22m

County Durham craft retailer Crafter’s Companion is establishing a new HQ in the US after seeing revenues almost double.

The company, headquartered in Newton Aycliffe, has grown its turnover from $12m to an estimated $22m (c.£9.4m to £17.2m) in the last two years.

Crafter’s Companion attributed the growth to an increased demand from some its key accounts, including the Home Shopping Network, Notions Marketing and Amazon, as well as fellow retailers Hobby Lobby and Tuesday Morning.

As a result, the firm will move its main US base to larger 31,000 sq ft premises in Corona, a city in southern California.

Sara Davies MBE, founder of Crafter’s Companion, said: “It’s fantastic to see such an increase in demand for our products in the US market.

“When we opened our office in Santa Ana, California, in 2016, I could not have envisioned this level of growth, although I always knew our products would be well received by customers in North America.”

She continued: “A big part of our success in this market has been down to a great partnership with Home Shopping Network. Its team has supported our brand for many years and enabled us to bring our innovations to their well-established and loyal customer base.”

The business is currently recruiting for new staff at its US HQ, where it recently filled two senior roles, hiring Lister Hargreaves as chief financial officer and promoting Kelli Snowgold to VP of commercial strategy.

Speaking further, Sara said: “This latest expansion, together with a strengthened senior leadership team, provides us with a solid platform to further increase our US presence and develop our product portfolio to meet customers’ evolving needs. It’s a very exciting time for our business and we can’t wait to see what the next few years will bring.”

Crafter’s Companion was founded in 2005. Today it employs 150 people and exports to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South Africa and North and South America.