A leading Yorkshire-based distribution company with major sites in Bradford has helped women’s sports clothing retailer Sweaty Betty expand into the United States.

Torque, which employs 200 staff at logistics bases on Cutler Heights Lane and Holme Lane, has supported the launch of new Sweaty Betty stores in New York’s Greenwich and Soho by arranging the movement of all stock, consumables and store equipment.

Torque staff picked and packed all stock for the new stores and Sweaty Betty’s UK manufacturers also sent items needed to duplicate the retailer’s UK branch layout, to be packaged and individually labelled by Torque Mark Smith, Sweaty Betty finance and operations director, said: “Torque provided a full end-to-end export service to support the launches, with all aspects of their service being impressive.

“One particularly excellent aspect was the customs documentation, which took meticulous planning, due to the incredible amount of detail needed for a new brand to enter the US.

“Torque’s in-house warehouse management expertise and software development capability enabled it to manage the whole process effectively and efficiently. It married data from various systems, including shipping information from its RedPrairie warehouse management system, to produce a fully automated commercial invoice that was accepted by US customs without any issues, so the danger of delays was completely averted.”

Torque has worked with Sweaty Betty since 2007 and now supports all its retail and e-commerce business, servicing stores and online orders to the UK, Europe and the US over a period in which the retailer’s business has tripled in size.

David Scott, Torque head of warehouse and distribution, said: “We’re thrilled to be helping Sweaty Betty with its US expansion. The launch was a challenging project but both teams have a ‘can do’ approach and delivered brilliantly. We now look forward to helping Sweaty Betty continue its growth, at home and abroad.”

Torque’s Bradford sites total 450,000 sq ft and provide services including quality checking and product assembly as well managing on-line returns and exchanges. The company, which has a £60 million turnover also has bases in Leeds, Wigan and London.

The contract coincided with Torque clinching the best international supply chain initiative accolade at the Retail Week supply chain awards. The award recognised Torque’s partnership with business workwear retailer TM Lewin, which has opened 51 stores over the past two years to grow its chain to 100 and also has franchises in Singapore, Malaysia, Nigeria, Ghana and the Czech Republic.