bctoutdoors.co.uk
What inspired you to start a business for the glamping and camping industry? How long have you been trading?
BCT Outdoors have been trading since 1896 supplying best of British hand made tents for the last 7 years for the glamping market. We have been supplying the scouts here for over 100 years.
What type of structures do you create?
We manufacture canvas tents, scouting tents, mess tents, marquees and a number of special glamping tents like the Yurt, bell tent and our full Nomadic range like the Nomadic bell tent. The Nomadic range have internal steel frames to support the canvas and can be secured in situ without guy ropes.
What are the main advantages of using tented structures for hospitality, in your opinion?
I believe this allows customers to choose a different experience each time they go away and being a little bit closer to nature. They are easier to move around and are more cost affective than semi or permanent structures.
What makes them stand out from your competitors/other manufacturers?
We manufacture here in the UK. Buy using all the best materials from around the world to offer the very best products we can. We are always innovating and evolving to bring bigger and better tents to the market whilst still producing some of the old classics like our mess tents. We often have letters in from around the world let us know that the tent they purchased from us 30 years ago, are still going strong!
How much maintenance do your products require? Do you offer any follow-up services?
Looking after a Canvas tent is very important and caring for it will mean it will last. We have a Wash /Treat and repair service available for our customers which is all carried out in our Factory in Bradford.
What is the average wait time from workshop to site?
The average wait time would be around 4/6 weeks dependent on the canvas material being available. Tencate material, which is considered the best there is, is sometimes on a 16 week delivery time scale so we have to manage our deliveries very closely. We some times have off the shelf items ready to go but most orders are made to order. The current Pandemic combined with other issues around the world have increased waiting times this year. We have been busy employing new team members post lockdown and are now back a full strength to supply the current huge demand.
Can your products be assembled on-site or do they require transportation?
Our tents can be assembled anywhere. All our frames break down into manageable parts and come with bags. I will admit that some of them will need 2 people to carry. The Nomadic Yurt is so hardy, once put together, that a number of our customers have said they could leave this all year long without having to worry about it being damaged by high winds. Because of its circular design the structure seems to be super stable and for years noe we have a number of these dotted around the coast in situ in north Wales and Scotland with out any reported damage.
What geographical markets do you cover?
We are currently suppling the UK, Europe and as far away as Japan. The Glamping market is growing all the time and we are able to supply and support any glamping business with a range of tents.
Would you offer discounts on larger purchases for bigger sites?
We do have a number of larger orders that go through like local authorities to large scale events like Glastonbury and Womad festivals who will order hundreds of units and we do negotiates at the sales point. It’s getting more difficult to be lean around price as everything needed to make the tents seems to be increasing weekly!
How long is the lifespan of your products? Do you offer any warranties?
We offer a 2 year guarantee on all our products for manufacturing defects. Strong winds are not included I’m afraid.
Featured in May 2022 of International Glamping Business magazine
