Premium Spanish hood brand Pando has revealed plans to strengthen its export business by targeting the UK and Germany for growth.

Although the company has been successfully distributing its premium hoods in France and Portugal for more than 10 years, following the economic crisis in Spain, it is rolling out a more detailed plan for international exports targeting key markets, including the UK and Germany.

Doncaster-based specialist distributor The Lightworks has been appointed as the exclusive supplier of Pando hoods in the UK.

Commenting on its decision to enter the UK market, Pando’s export manager Iñaki Iturbe said: “The UK has always been a top priority for international growth of Pando because of proximity and of course the market potential. Despite the challenging economic climate, we feel there is still great scope for brands and products that are capable of ticking the core requirements of designers and retailers – great design coupled with great performance.

“We understand that it takes time to build a brand in a new market, so we know it won’t happen overnight, but we are confident through working with The Lightworks to target high-end, independent specialist retailers, we can achieve great things in the UK.”

This bold move by Pando, comes just weeks after managing director Nigel Jacobs, revealed Euroline’s plans for premium Italian hood brand Falmec in the UK. Despite this and other strong competition for market share, Turbe believes that Pando’s portfolio is strong enough to compete and that there is room for the brand to grow in the UK.

“Of course, the UK is a very competitive market, there are a lot of leading brands and that makes things more difficult,” Iturbe said. “But, at Pando, we try to combine different elements that you perhaps can’t find in other brands on the market. We invest a lot of time and money in designing our hoods and as a result we have a very strong product portfolio. We also have more than 90 models all offered in a variety of size configurations and different motors and we offer a bespoke service that makes ours a very flexible offering.”

Speaking at its headquarters in Barcelona, Turbe told kbbreview that the brand, which has been producing hoods since 1979 and is now owned by Inoxpan S.L, is the leading designer hood manufacturer in Spain with a 30% share of the market. Pando’s director-general, Josep Rubio, also revealed that the brand achieved a healthy turnover of €9 million (£7.1m) last year despite the extreme economic conditions.