Orders handled by Bristol eCommerce success story Huboo have soared by more than 120% at its German and Dutch bases over the past year – helped by a “tentative” return to the European market by UK firms.
The firm launched in 2017 with two safe storage lockers in Bath and entered the European market two years later after securing a £2.1m investment. 
At the time it said it had spotted an opportunity to take its UK ‘hub’ model into other major markets.
Now has 1,400-plus clients worldwide and employs more than 700 people globally across the UK, Europe and the US.
Its Netherlands fulfilment hub, which it opened three years ago, grew order shipments by 128% last year, while the German hub, which celebrates its second anniversary this month, increased shipments by 123%.
While most of the growth has come from internal European business, it also benefitted from a return to the continent by UK brands following problems with the introduction of Brexit-related red tape.
Huboo said in 2020, shipments from the UK to Europe made up 14% of its total orders.
However, this dropped to 4% in 2022 thanks to the increased administration and costs introduced by Brexit, which made cross-border opportunities unviable for many smaller eCommerce brands.
Huboo has now reported an increase to 6% in 2023 as UK brands began to explore new digital fulfilment technologies aimed at easing the pathway to EU trade.
Huboo cofounder and CEO Martin Bysh said the firm’s latest European shipments data told two stories.
“Firstly, that there is a massive pan-European growth opportunity available to eCommerce brands all over Europe,” he added.
“Secondly, that UK eCommerce brands are dipping their toes into EU water once again, using fulfilment partners such as Huboo to manage the burden on their behalf.
“We’ve worked hard to develop technology and processes that seamlessly manage the complexities of cross-border trade on behalf of all our clients, which we believe is the only way smaller eCommerce brands can compete.”
Huboo Netherlands achieved calendar year-on-year revenue growth of 171% to £3.8m while Huboo Germany achieved annual revenue growth of around 400% – taking its revenue past £1m for the first time.
Huboo’s pioneering human-centric warehousing model is focused on ‘hubs’ – essentially micro-warehouses – run by small teams who participate in all aspects of the fulfilment process, such as picking, packing, posting and client support.
These hubs are in stark contrast to traditional fulfilment industry model, which is known for its gruelling, low-paid warehouse roles.
By using Huboo’s eCommerce platform, brands can get underway selling across dozens of popular European marketplaces within hours
They can also shift stock over to Huboo’s European warehouses to minimise the cost and complexity of shipping, and rely on the firm’s inventory management to forecast and meet demand at all times, regardless of shipping location.
Martin added: “If you’re selling products on one channel, it’s relatively cheap to expand and sell across multiple channels, providing you’ve got the right inventory management software in place.
“This is the eCommerce opportunity in a nutshell, and our data and the conversations we’re having with clients suggest that appetite for cross-border trade is finally on the rise again.”
Pan-European clients signed in the past 12 months include Deliciously Ella, Europe’s number one plant-based recipe platform, which needed an eCommerce partner that could manage the complexities of exporting into the EU and alleviate the growing burden on its in-house team.
Since partnering with Huboo and shifting stock over to its Netherlands warehouse, Deliciously Ella’s European orders have increased by 99%, including a significant uplift in repeat custom, thanks to Huboo’s ability to track stock efficiently and improve in-stock rates.
Huboo raised £29m last November to further accelerate expansion and profitability following a seventh successive year of strong growth, during which the business doubled in size, adding 800 new clients and more than £25m of new business.
