Bathstore
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Bathroom Retailer |
| Founded | 1990 (Croydon, London) |
| Founder | Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer |
| Headquarters | Watford, England, UK |
|
Key people
|
Gary Favell (CEO) |
| Products | Bathroom |
|
Number of employees
|
500+ (2012) |
| Website | [1] |
Bathstore.com Ltd., trading as bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom.[1] bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s[2] by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena. The company published one catalogue that contained all its products for the complete bathroom, with real retail prices. The ethos was to focus on the home owner, rather than the trade buyer.
Contents
History
In 2003, bathstore was acquired by Wolseley Plc,[3] the global building materials company that owns brands such as Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK. A period of rapid expansion and brand development under the leadership of executive chairman Nick Nearchou established the business as the UK's clear No 1 speciality bathroom retailer with more than 170 showrooms throughout the United Kingdom by the end of 2007. In 2009 the warehousing and delivery operation was transferred to DHL Supply Chain at their facility at the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal near Crick.
In May 2012, bathstore was acquired by Endless LLP[4] from Wolseley PLC as a non-core asset acquisition for £15 million cash. Endless LLP is one of the UK’s leading turnaround investor and specialises in the provision of financial investment and hands-on turnaround expertise.
In June 2014, bathstore was sold as part of a management buy out led by Chief Executive Gary Favell.
Operation
As of May 2015, bathstore has 170 stores throughout the UK employing over 500 people.
It launched its first television advertising campaign in December 2006. In November 2007 its television advertisements used CGI technology for the first time, incorporating water animation to bring life and movement to the products being showcased. These advertisements were voiced by Spooks and Cold Feet star, Hermione Norris.[5]
The brand has been recognised by bathstore being nominated and short listed for the Retail Week Awards as the Best Specialist Retailer in 2007 and 2008.[6]
References
- ↑ bathstore largest specialist retailer in the UK www.bathstore.com
- ↑ bathstore founded in 1990 www.bathstore.com
- ↑ Wolseley acquires bathstore www.wolseley.com, 2003
- ↑ http://www.endlessllp.com/ Endless LLP
- ↑ Bathstore Makes a Splash www.creativematch.co.uk, 29 November 2007.
- ↑ Retail Week Awards 2008 Shortlist www.retailweek-awards.co.uk, 21 January 2008.
