Hobbycraft is an
arts and crafts superstore retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...
chain in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It is currently owned by investment group
Bridgepoint.
History
![Hobbycraft, Borehamwood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Hobbycraft%2C_Borehamwood.jpg)
It was started by the Haskins Group, a nursery and garden supplier in the south of England, and was bought by investment group
Bridgepoint in April 2010.
The stores have been blamed for putting independent craft suppliers out of business, and the amount of choice for specific hobbies has been said to be not as good as in specialised stores. Hobbycraft reported a 10% increase in sales in the beginning of 2010, and opened two new stores, with the chief executive saying arts and crafts are a low cost
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
and he believed they would do well despite difficulties in the economy.
In 2010 to 2011, Hobbycraft quickly brought in a new shipping system under the guidance of Hobbycraft IT Director Mike Thomas, a former supply chain director, IT and Business Development Director for the defunct
Entertainment UK
Entertainment UK Limited (EUK) was a retail supply and distribution company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Woolworths Group. The company, and Woolworths plc, entered administration with Deloitte on 26 November 2008. EUK claimed to have had a ...
and
Woolworths Group
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
companies in which he had held active senior director/shareholder roles.
During the deployment of the new IT system, Hobbycraft management also decided to relocate the distribution centre operations from
Blandford Forum to
Burton-upon-Trent.
In October 2013, it was revealed that "Hobbycraft's pre-tax profits fell from £11.5m to £6.3m last year after the company incurred exceptional costs of £2.8m, mostly as a result of the decision to relocate its distribution from Dorset to Staffordshire."
In September 2014, it was revealed that Hobbycraft's profits had halved, due to chains such as
Aldi
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...
,
Lidl
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
,
Poundland
Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections by ...
, and online retailers such as
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
moving into the craft market. Hobbycraft's CEO Catriona Marshall said that the company's profits had been depressed by a £3m investment on a rented warehouse in
Burton-upon-Trent, on which Hobbycraft took out a fifteen-year lease.
Marshall said: "Our performance in 2013/14 reflects investment in infrastructure and the final stages of the programme to put in place our new supply chain and online trading platform. We are now using this investment to grow store sales and our online presence."
At the start of December 2014, Bridgepoint brought in retail veteran
Archie Norman in the hope of turning around the fortunes of the company.
In May 2018, Matt Davies, the new chairman, added: "This is a unique business that I have followed for many years. I look forward to working with Dominic again and to working with the team to build on its success to make Hobbycraft an even greater place for crafters and enthusiasts alike."
In August 2020, Hobbycraft announced multi-channel growth plans after a complete financial year in which its online revenues increased by 19%. The company has seen e-commerce turbocharged this year – recording a 200% rise in internet revenues as the 12-week shutdown of Covid-19 channelled much of its web revenue.
In May 2021, Hobbycraft was revealed as the Fourth Best Big Company to Work for in the UK and the third Best Retail Company to work for in the UK by the Best Companies Awards 2021.
Past logo
File:Hobbycraft-logo.svg, Logo used until June 2011
Controversies
* In May 2013,
Queen's Hospital Queens is a borough of New York City.
Queens or Queen's may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Queens (group), a Polish musical group
* "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018
* ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984
* "Queens", a song by ...
A&E department in
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The ...
was closed down for three hours "in accordance with national guidance" after seven workers of Hobbycraft attended A&E and reported being covered with an unknown white powder. It was later shown to be inert.
* In September 2014, Hobbycraft made wide news headlines in the United Kingdom when non-national staff were required to speak English at work or face disciplinary action.
References
{{reflist
External links
hobbycraft.co.uk— official website
Arts and crafts retailers
Companies based in Dorset
Retail companies of the United Kingdom
Stationers of the United Kingdom
Retail companies established in 1995
British companies established in 1995