Bubble firm registers as French business to‘beat Brexit’
A GWYNEDD bubble firm that sells around the globe has registered as a French business to help navigate Brexit.
Dr Zigs, based on the Vaynol Estate near Bangor, has been an export success story, selling its bubble kits and mixture across the UK and overseas.
As the end of the Brexit transition period approached, it became concerned about future sales in Europe and how the UK’s exit from the single market and customs union could impact trade.
Owner Paola Dyboski-Bryant said: “Last year we were exhibiting at Nuremberg, one of the biggest toy fairs in the world, and at least half the buyers asked if we sold via Europe.
“All were already concerned about Brexit and the implications of trading with a UK company.
“This set off alarm bells for me, and on our return I started looking into what I could do to help Dr Zigs through Brexit.
“It was clear early on that we would have to register for VAT in the different countries, and some buyers were already asking us for a European address – there was certainly more awareness of the outcome of the UK becoming a ‘third country’ in mainland Europe than there was in the UK.”
She started the registration for VAT in Germany, Italy and France in
spring last year.
Ms Dyboski-Bryant added: “I’m so glad I did as it took nearly eight months for some of them to come through. Then in the summer I began to get concerned that leaving without a deal was a possibility, and began thinking about a plan B.
For me, that was setting up a Dr Zigs legal entity in Europe.
“I have been lucky as I speak French, and was able to set things in motion in the summer, finding
lawyers, banks, and getting the process started. I was also able to set up some meetings with buyers, and having a EU business entity helped me clinch deals. I began talks with a new distributor, and things started to take shape.”
In December she headed to France to the new distribution centre in La Rochelle to make sure the shipments would transit and that buyers and systems would work, and to sign the final bits of paperwork.
Lockdowns have meant she has extended her stay, allowing her to oversee the early days of Brexit. She is pleased with how it has gone.
Ms Dyboski-Bryant said: “We were able to test our new systems here and it works! The first order arrived to our office in Wales, was transferred to our centre in La Rochelle here in France, and was shipped to our customer in Prague. We’re super excited for the potential we have with Dr Zigs. It’s been a challenging year, yet we’ve been overjoyed that the Bubbles have really come into their own, spreading so much happiness and joy in really difficult times.
“Now our bubbles can travel even further.”
She says manufacturing will remain in North Wales with jobs retained but that some work will now be carried out in France.
She added: “In future we may have to move some assembly into Europe, but it’s too early to tell.”