The Range
IndustryRetail
Founded1989 (1989)[1]
HeadquartersPlymouth, United Kingdom
Key people
Chris Dawson (Chairman)
ProductsHome, garden and leisure products
BrandsWilko
Number of employees
11,200
ParentNorton Group Holdings Limited
Websitewww.therange.co.uk
The Range, Andover (2006)
The Range, Tulip Retail Park, Leeds (2007)

The Range is a multi-channel retailer selling products in the home, garden, and leisure categories, with over 210 stores in the United Kingdom and 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 signs exclusively at this debut store only,[2] as a nod to the heritage of the business.

The business was subsequently rebranded "The Range" in the early 1990s after further store openings. "The Range" is the trading name of CDS (Superstores International) Ltd.[3]

Wilko acquisition

In September 2023, the company acquired discount retailer Wilko for £5,000,000 after Wilko's parent company collapsed into administration a month earlier.[4]

In late October 2023, The Range’s parent company, C.D.S Superstores, said that the company would open 5 new stand-alone Wilko stores “before Christmas". This came just under 3 weeks after the collapsed retailer ceased operations.[5]

wilko store pre closure in September / October 2023
Former Wilko Store

The relaunched brand is set to open the first ever Wilko store in Northern Ireland, though it is currently unknown when this store will open.[6]

The known locations in England are 1 store in both Plymouth and Exeter . the locations of the remaining stores are 2 in the southeast and 1 in the north. [7]

Key people

Chris Dawson, the founder of the business, was chief executive officer between 1989 and 2017.

Jersey based Sarah Dawson wholly owns the parent company's shares with her husband Chris Dawson listed as a person with significant control.[8]

Chris 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.[9] 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 to 2016.[10] New store openings such as the Swansea store[11] regularly gain local press attention.

Many of the stores in Ireland are repurposed stores/retail warehouses that have been left by other brands including Woolworths, Tesco,[12] Homebase and Atlantic Homecare[13]

During 2016 and 2017, The Range opened stores in both Northern Ireland[14] 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.[15] The retailer currently operates a total of 211 stores, including a brand new concept store in Derriford, Plymouth.

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[16] and the EU Top 350[17] 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.[18] 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[19] and found only within The Range stores. Newer, larger stores offer an Iceland food department (paid for at main tills),[20] and the cafes in stores with Iceland are branded 'Iceland Cafe'.[21] 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, Bristol and Thorne, Doncaster.

The Avonmouth distribution centre has an area of over 1,250,000 sq ft[22] and is the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom.[23][24]

In Spring 2024, The Range will open a brand new distribution centre in Stowmarket, Suffolk, just off the A14 trunk road, with 1,170,000 sq ft of space for goods. The road is directly on the route from the Port of Felixstowe to the Midlands and beyond.

The Thorne distribution centre has an area of over 750,000 sq ft.[25]

Head office

The Range Head Office used to be in the Estover area of Plymouth, but in 2019 it was relocated to a new building named ‘Elsie Margaret House’. It is in the Derriford area of Plymouth next door to the flagship store. It employs over 300 people.[26]

The new head office was part of a major development by London-based property developer Petros and was 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.[27]

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. ↑ Jordan, Dearbail. "Wilko: Lisa Wilkinson 'devastated' over the failure of firm". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Wilko brand bought by The Range in £5m deal". BBC News. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Jones2023-10-27T10:52:00+01:00, Stephen. "Standalone Wilko stores to return to the UK under 'aggressive' rollout plans". The Grocer. Retrieved 1 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Harte, Lauren (28 October 2023). "Popular retailer opening stores in NI as part of High Street return". Belfast Live. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Five Wilko shops to reopen before Christmas". Sky News. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "NORTON GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "The Range - Our Story". www.therange.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Popular UK retailer, The Range, to open its doors in Maynooth next month". www.leinsterleader.ie.
  13. ↑ Kinsella, Aoife. "The Discounters are here to stay | The Hardware Journal".
  14. ↑ McKeown, Gareth (14 August 2017). "Retail chain The Range to create 80 jobs with new Connswater store". The Irish News. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Range boss Chris Dawson climbs rich list with £1.65bn fortune". westernmorningnews. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "InternetRetailing UK Top500 2017 - InternetRetailing". InternetRetailing. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Leading European multichannel retailers named in 2017 IREU Top500 report - InternetRetailing". InternetRetailing. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "UPDATE: Hundreds turn up to opening of The Range Superstore". Redditch Advertiser. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  19. ↑ Manzoori-Stamford, Janie (19 September 2014). "Compass Group wins £60m contract with The Range". www.thecaterer.com. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  20. ↑ "Iceland develops supply chain network to support store expansion strategy". SHD Logistics. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Shaw, Neil (12 September 2019). "Iceland to open first cafe where you can eat then buy frozen meals". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "The Range and DHL open distribution centre in Bristol". ITV News. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ "INCREDIBLE NEW AERIAL PICTURES REVEAL THE ENORMITY OF THE RANGE'S NEW AVONMOUTH WAREHOUSE". Central Park Bristol. 4 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "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.
  26. ↑ "Chris Dawson marks 30 years of The Range by opening another superstore in his home city". Plymouth News Room. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  27. ↑ "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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