Arden Winch

What Arden Winch does

Arden Winch & Co Ltd is a UK-based B2B distributor of personal protective equipment (PPE), workwear, and industrial cleaning supplies, founded in 1812 as R. Richmond & Son Brush Company and headquartered in Sheffield. The company operates from two sites — the Sheffield head office (9 Acres Hill Lane, S9 4LR) and a Nottingham branch (Unit 4E, Blenheim Park Road, opened June 2013) — serving customers from multi-national corporations and city councils down to sole traders across manufacturing, engineering, government and public-sector verticals. Its catalogue spans safety footwear, gloves, eye and face protection, head protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, career wear, hazardwear, healthcare and beauty clothing, janitorial supplies, first aid, and tools, sourced through the Eurosafe buying group which provides £70m+ combined purchasing power and ethical supply chain verification via the DENT team.

The core technology is a Netalogue-powered e-commerce storefront with Sage Pay payment processing and SSL encryption, complemented by an in-house embroidery and heat seal facility running four machines with 21 heads producing over 300 customised garments per day, including digitising, vinyl cutting and free logo sampling. Go-to-market is sales-led with a hybrid digital-plus-field model: free own-transport delivery covers South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, parts of North Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, parts of Lincolnshire and the Midlands, while carrier-based next-day delivery serves the rest of the UK. Account customers transact on 30-day net payment terms with 3% over HSBC base rate interest on overdue balances, and revenues are generated through one-time product sales of branded goods (Portwest, V12, Bolle, uvex, Snickers, etc.) plus professional-services revenue from corporate logo digitising (£12 breast / £25 back) and prescription safety spectacles configured via Industrial Eyecare's E-Dispense system. Distribution is reinforced by accreditation: ISO 9001 (since 2011), BSiF Registered Safety Supplier, Cyber Essentials, and voluntary Modern Slavery Act compliance, though the company's turnover is self-disclosed as under £36 million per annum with no external funding, no PE/VC capital, and family-controlled ownership since 1939.

Name

Arden Winch

Legal name

Arden Winch & Co Ltd

Website

https://ardenwinch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1812

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arden Winch is a Sheffield-headquartered UK B2B distributor founded in 1812 that sells personal protective equipment, workwear, corporate clothing, and janitorial supplies to manufacturers, councils, and trade customers across northern England and the UK, with in-house embroidery and prescription safety spectacles services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Safety Equipment and Workwear Distribution

NAICS

Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing (316)

SIC

Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments (2320), Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Protective & Work Accessories Manufacturing (Safety Gloves/Hi-Vis Accessories) (IMAOAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

High-Visibility (Hi-Vis) Safety Apparel (CRAAALAE), Flame & Heat Protective Foundry/Welding Apparel (CRAAALAL)

Keywords

• Personal protective equipment
• Safety workwear
• Industrial janitorial supplies
• Safety footwear gloves
• Corporate logo embroidery

Headquarters

HQ city

Sheffield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. PPE and Safety Equipment Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling personal protective equipment including safety footwear, protective gloves, eyewear, headwear, hearing protection, respiratory protection masks and filters.
2. Workwear and Clothing Sales: Sale of workwear, uniforms, corporate wear and sports/leisure wear. Includes career wear, hazardwear, healthcare and beauty clothing, weather wear.
3. Corporate Logo Services: In-house embroidery and heat seal services for corporate logos. Digitising charges of £12 for breast logo and £25 for back logo. Once digitised, logos can be used on all future embroidered clothing orders.
4. Janitorial and Cleaning Supplies: Sale of cleaning chemicals, cleaning equipment, skincare products, air fresheners and paper products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Arden Winch is a B2B retailer and distributor of personal protective equipment (PPE), workwear, corporate clothing, safety footwear, gloves and janitorial/cleaning supplies, operating from sites in Sheffield and Nottingham. The company stocks major brands across PPE, workwear, cleaning and hygiene, and workplace safety categories, and supplements product sales with an in-house embroidery and heat-seal logo customisation service and prescription safety spectacles.

Product overview

Arden Winch is a B2B e-commerce retailer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), workwear, and industrial supplies established in 1812. The company operates a multi-category product portfolio comprising Cleaning & Hygiene products (air fresheners, cleaning chemicals, equipment, skincare, paper products), Clothing (career wear, workwear, hazardwear, hospitality), PPE (eye/face protection, head protection, hearing, respiratory), Workplace Safety (first aid, tools, height safety), Gloves (various protection types), and Footwear (safety boots, trainers, ESD shoes). The company also offers value-added services including in-house corporate logo embroidery and heat seal application, prescription safety spectacles, and a Resource Library for safety documentation. The offering is distributed through a traditional e-commerce model with no modular platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies Range of cleaning chemicals, cleaning equipment, air fresheners, skincare products, paper products and bags supplied to UK workplaces and industrial buyers under brands including Selden, Swarfega, Janitol and Shades.
• Clothing and Workwear Career wear, workwear, hazardwear, catering and hospitality uniforms, healthcare and beauty wear, polo shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts and weather wear from brands such as Henbury, Kustom Kit, Premier, Russell, Portwest, Snickers, Regatta, Orn and Uneek.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Eye and face protection (goggles, spectacles, visors), head protection (bump caps, safety helmets), hearing protection and respiratory protection equipment from brands including Honeywell, Portwest, Pyramex and uvex.
• Workplace Safety Supplies First aid kits and supplies, height safety equipment, incident management, packaging, safety signs, storage solutions, tools and torches for workplaces, supplied under brands including Blue Dot, Sharpsguard, BioSafe, Martor, Markal, Silverline, Stanley and Carters.
• Protective Gloves Protective gloves for anti-impact, chemical, cold, cut-resistant, heat-resistant, mechanical handling, mechanics, rigger, specialist and welding applications.
• Safety Footwear Safety boots, rigger boots, safety shoes, safety trainers, waterproof boots, wellingtons, ESD footwear and women's safety footwear from brands including V12, Portwest, Apache and Cofra.
• Corporate Logo Embroidery and Heat Seal Service In-house embroidery and heat seal logo application service for corporate clothing and workwear, with 4 embroidery machines (21 heads) producing over 300 garments per day, plus vinyl cutting, heat seal presses and digitising. Digitising fees of £12 for breast logo and £25 for back logo; sample logos provided free of charge.
• Man Pack Workwear Bundle Pre-configured workwear bundle containing 5 polo shirts, 2 sweatshirts, 1 fleece and 2 pairs of action trousers with embroidered corporate logo at left breast, priced at £90.95 excluding VAT, designed to provide a starter kit of branded workwear for tradespeople or new employees.
• Prescription Safety Spectacles Prescription safety eyewear service offered in partnership with Industrial Eyecare and Bolle Safety, with single vision, bifocal and progressive lenses in polycarbonate, toughened glass or CR39, and E-Dispense photo-based measurement system.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EurosafecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEurosafe is the leading association of independent safety equipment and workwear distributors in UK and Ireland. Arden Winch is proud to be a part of Eurosafe, gaining combined purchasing power of £70m+, access to all major brands, quality assurance and trustworthy relationships.
• Industrial EyecareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for supply of prescription safety spectacles. Industrial Eyecare's E-Dispense system takes photographs to record customer measurements for prescription safety eyewear.
• Bolle SafetyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for supply of prescription safety spectacles. Bolle Safety provides ranges of frames in both metal and plastic, with lenses available in Single Vision, Bi-focal or Progressive types.
• DENT (Dedicated Eurosafe Negotiating Team)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAs part of the Eurosafe buying group, DENT is responsible for negotiating on all new products and checking the source of each product and supplier's manufacturing facility for ethical compliance.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Arco: Arco is the UK's largest safety equipment distributor, offering PPE, workwear, and workplace safety products to industrial and public sector customers. Directly comparable to Arden Winch in product range, customer base (manufacturing, councils), and B2B distribution model, but at significantly greater national scale.
• Greenham Trade: Greenham is a long-established UK distributor of workwear, PPE, janitorial supplies and facility products serving businesses and the public sector. Direct overlap with Arden Winch's PPE, workwear, and cleaning product mix and B2B account-based distribution approach.
• Slingsby: Slingsby is a UK-based B2B distributor of workplace equipment, materials handling, and PPE with a strong e-commerce catalogue model. Comparable to Arden Winch as a regional/national industrial supplies distributor targeting similar trade and public sector buyers.
• Cromwell Tools: Cromwell is a major UK industrial supplies distributor with overlapping PPE, workwear, hand tools, and consumables categories. Comparable to Arden Winch in serving B2B customers across manufacturing, MRO and facility maintenance, though with broader industrial MRO scope.

Broad incumbents

• Toolstation: Toolstation is a UK-wide trade retailer with workwear, safety footwear and PPE ranges alongside tools and site supplies. Overlaps with Arden Winch in the workwear/PPE category but competes primarily on price and convenience for tradespeople.
• Brammer (Rubix Group): Brammer, now part of Rubix, is one of Europe's largest industrial distributors of MRO products including PPE, hand tools and consumables. Comparable to Arden Winch as an industrial PPE/workwear supplier to manufacturing customers, but with pan-European scale and direct relationships with major industrial accounts.
• Screwfix: Screwfix is a UK-wide trade retailer carrying workwear, safety footwear and a subset of PPE alongside its core tool and hardware range. Comparable end-customer base (tradespeople, small contractors) but operates at vastly greater scale and digital sophistication than Arden Winch.
• Travis Perkins: Travis Perkins is the UK's largest builders' merchant, supplying trade customers with workwear, PPE and safety products alongside core building materials. Comparable in serving UK trades and contractors but is a much larger, multi-category incumbent.

Regional players

• Engelbert Strauss: Engelbert Strauss is a German workwear and PPE manufacturer/distributor with a UK presence, known for branded workwear. Comparable in workwear and PPE categories but originates from continental Europe and competes on branded workwear rather than multi-brand distribution.

Emerging players

• Workwear Express: Workwear Express is an online-focused UK workwear and corporate clothing specialist with in-house embroidery capabilities. Comparable to Arden Winch in workwear range and logo customisation service but operates primarily via digital channels rather than own-transport distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/ardenwinchltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/ardenwinch
• Xx.com/ardenwinch

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arden Winch