The Range (retailer)

The Range
Industry Retail
Founded 1989[1]
Headquarters Plymouth, United Kingdom
Key people

Nigel Oddy (CEO)

Chris Dawson (Chairman)
Products Home, garden and leisure products
Number of employees
 11,200
Website www.therange.co.uk
The Range, Andover (2006)
The Range, Tulip Retail Park, Leeds (2007)

The Range is a multi-channel variety retailer selling products in the home, garden, and leisure categories, with 158 stores in the United Kingdom & Ireland.

History

In 1980, Chris Dawson started business as an open-air market trader in Plymouth, South West England.

His first physical retail store opened in 1989 at Sugar Mill Business Park on Billacombe Road, Plymouth under the name "C.D.S. Superstores".[1] This trading style continues to be displayed on external signage exclusively at this debut store only[2], as a nod to the heritage of the business.

The business was subsequently re-branded "The Range" in the early 1990's after further store openings. "The Range" is the trading name of CDS (Superstores International) Ltd.

Key people

Chris Dawson, the founder of the business, was Chief Executive Officer between 1989 - 2017.

Nigel Oddy, previously CEO at House of Fraser, was appointed Chief Executive Officer on 2 May 2017[3], with Chris Dawson assuming the position of Executive Chairman.

Chris Dawson and his wife Sarah wholly own the business. Dawson was ranked fifth in Management Today's seventh annual survey of Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs.

Products

The Range sells a diverse and large assortment of products, their marketing often referencing a product range of over 65,000 products.[4] Products sold are a combination of branded, non-branded, and own-branded goods in the broad home, garden and leisure categories.

Store growth

The Range has expanded rapidly. In 2009, The Range was ranked 121st on The Sunday Times, PricewaterhouseCoopers Top Track, and 250 League Table of the United Kingdom's fastest growing companies.

The business regularly announces new store openings in large tranches, for example in November 2013, it was announced that The Range planned to open 40 stores in the period of 2013–2016.[5] New store openings such as the Swansea store[6] regularly gain local press attention.

During 2016 & 2017, The Range opened stores in both Northern Ireland[7] and the Republic of Ireland for the first time. Chris Dawson, the chain's billionaire owner has previously indicated he has European expansion plans, including 1,000 stores across Europe.[8] The retailer currently operates a total of 148 stores, including a clearance outlet in Exeter.

The Range have also expanded e-commerce operations significantly in recent years. The business was recognised in 2017 as a leading multi-channel retailer in the Internet Retailing UK Top 250[9] and the EU Top 350[10] indices.

Store formats & locations

The vast majority of stores are situated in out-of-town retail park locations, with some exceptions such as the four Greater London stores at Surrey Quays, Enfield, Romford and Watford. The Range also occupies some shopping centre locations such as the Redditch store[11]. Various design iterations of the store branding and format have been used as the brand has evolved. Stores are geographically dispersed across all regions of the United Kingdom & the Republic of Ireland.

Many stores also include a "Dee Dee's", an own-brand coffee shop concept operated by Compass Group[12] and found only within The Range stores. Some stores also host concessions such as rug cleaner hire or key cutting services.

Distribution centres

The Range operates over 2,000,000 sq ft of distribution space, mostly from their facilities at Avonmouth, Gloucester, Bristol and Thorne, Doncaster.

The Avonmouth distribution centre has an area of over 1,250,000 sq ft[13] and is the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom.[14][15]

The Thorne distribution centre has an area of over 750,000 sq ft.[16]

Head Office

The Range currently operates its Head Office from premises in the Estover area of Plymouth, Devon where it employs over 300 people. The business recently announced plans to invest £8 million into building a new Head Office & training academy in the neighbouring Derriford area of the city.[17]

The new Head Office is part of a major development by London-based property developer Petros and is set to include residential, retail, hospitality, and office space. Dawson has indicated a long-held ambition to commit The Range to a long-term future and its head office jobs to Plymouth, the city where he has lived most of his life.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Telford, William (19 February 2015). "From market trader to millionaire - the rise and rise of Chris Dawson and The Range". Plymouth Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Range - Our Story". www.therange.co.uk. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "House of Fraser's Nigel Oddy to run The Range". Retail Week. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Range - Our Story". www.therange.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "Did you know... that The Range plans to open 45 stores in the next three years". Retail Week. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "We take a sneak peek inside Swansea's newest The Range store ahead of its grand opening". Swansea Evening Post. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  7. ↑ McKeown, Gareth. "Retail chain The Range to create 80 jobs with new Connswater store". The Irish News. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Range boss Chris Dawson climbs rich list with £1.65bn fortune". westernmorningnews. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "InternetRetailing UK Top500 2017 - InternetRetailing". InternetRetailing. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Leading European multichannel retailers named in 2017 IREU Top500 report - InternetRetailing". InternetRetailing. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  11. ↑ "UPDATE: Hundreds turn up to opening of The Range Superstore". Redditch Advertiser. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "Compass Group wins £60m contract with The Range". {{metaTags.other['og:site_name']}}. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Range and DHL open distribution centre in Bristol". ITV News. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Range distribution centre will be the largest ever built in the South West - The Business Exchange - Bath and Somerset". The Business Exchange - Bath and Somerset. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "The Range mega-shed in Avonmouth, Bristol". www.costar.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "TritaxTritax Big Box REIT plc - Acquisition of The Range, Nimbus Park, Thorne, Doncaster for £48.5 million - Tritax". www.tritax.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "The Range HQ to anchor new district centre for Derriford - Plymouth News Room". Plymouth News Room. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "The Range HQ to anchor new district centre for Derriford - Plymouth News Room". Plymouth News Room. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
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