Watt Gilchrist rebrands under parent Sun’s umbrella

The Bradford-based firm, which counts Asda and Somerfield as key clients, will now be known as Sun Branding Solutions (SBS), as it aims for growth in the UK, US and further afield. It already has offices in Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China.

The £18m-turnover company will encompass four sister divisions: White Zone, which specialises in strategy and brand design; Gilchrist, for brand graphics and implementation; Sun Brand Technologies, which offers the Odin brand management technology; and Your Packaging Partner, a packaging technology and database service.

Watt Gilchrist was allowed to retain its own brand for 18 months following its acquisition in 2006 by Sun Chemical, the inks and coatings supplier, from Toronto-based Envoy Communications Group.

Sun also bought Parker Williams, the London-based design agency that works for Sainsbury's, and it will continue to operate as a standalone business.

Managing director Paul Bean will continue to lead SBS, supported by sales director Ian Schofield, operations director Neil Swallow, customer service director Martin Hawkins, and finance director Nick Jupe.

Bean said the "power" of the Sun name would help the firm to grow.

The company's contacts within retailers and brand owners included "everybody from finance to commercial to the brands and marketing", he added, and "everybody's requirements are different".

SBS's core markets would continue to be the UK, mainland Europe and the US, he said, but it also aimed to take advantage of the international presence of Sun and its ultimate parent, DIC Corporation, formerly known as Dainippon Inks and Chemicals.

The firm generates around 70% of its turnover from the UK.

The Your Packaging Partner salesforce is targeting the firm's packaging technology service directly at brand owners, and the firm now employs 11 packaging technologists.

"We believe it's a big growth area – a lot of brands don't have that number in-house," said Bean.

He said the company would operate independently from Sun and would only recommend its parent's products if they were the best for a particular job.

"In the same way, we would recommend any other supplier," he added. "The biggest link with Sun is to give them the direct knowledge of brands' requirements."

Bean admitted the firm's close relationship with Asda – it has worked for the multiple for 15 years – could cost it business with other retailers but said he could "live with it".

* Watt Gilchrist brand Odin has launched a new module for its online brand management software. Brand Toolbox allows brand owners to reproduce multiple graphic versions of packaging artwork, removing the need for agencies to manually create alternative versions of a master file. 

Popular Articles