Caravan firm reports 'best ever year' amid staycation boom
Greentrees Caravan Store in Dereham has announced employees will get a share of a £10,000 bonus ahead of the Christmas period due to a "best ever year" in sales. - Credit: Greentrees
A Norfolk caravan business has beaten the odds to report a record-breaking year in sales.
Greentrees Caravan Store in Dereham announced it had its "best ever" sales figures in its 50-year history.
The success came in a year where the coronavirus pandemic saw millions of people lose their jobs and thousands of businesses struggle to stay open.
The family business, which was founded in 1967, has kept all 31 members of staff, taken them off furlough, and even hired three new recruits to deal with rising demand.
Justyn Greentree, director and Marc Jordan, dealer principal, holding the £10,000 staff bonus - Credit: Greentrees
Marc Jordan, dealer principal at the store, said: "Our business has seen an unprecedented demand this year due to the rise of the staycation.
"We have seen much 'new blood' to the industry - young families, retired couples, customers of all walks of life - coming to enjoy our outdoor lifestyle."
To celebrate the companies success in 2020, the three directors of the film announced employees would get a share of a £10,000 bonus ahead of the Christmas period.
Mr Jordan said: "Following our government closure in November, our staff were all furloughed once again and found themselves on 80pc wage leading up to Christmas, when we all count our pennies and pounds the most.
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"Traditionally we try to give our staff a small Christmas bonus each year in thanks for their work and loyalty, but nothing ever on this scale before in our company history of over 50 years.
"What makes our business special and successful is our staff and their attitudes, we had huge ground to make up after the first lockdown and could never imagine the dedication and devotion our team showed upon the return to work.
"The directors started putting in long hours to try to claw our way back from huge losses during lockdown and our staff pro-actively followed suit, extending our working hours most days by over 20pc and often more, without management even having to ask."
Greentrees was founded by Keith Greentree, his father and a single technician and has since become East Anglia’s largest purpose-built caravan and motorhomes sales and service centre.
