Studio Retail Group plc, known until July 2019 as Findel plc, is a British

home shopping Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Buy.com and Amazon.com, as well as tradit ...

company, based in

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. It is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

though its shares have been suspended since 14 February 2022, when it announced its intention to appoint administrators. Its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

has been Ian Burke since 16 December 2016. In April 2021 Studio sold the Findel Education businesses for £30 million. On 14 February 2022, Studio announced its intention to appoint administrators because options to secure additional borrowing had failed, leaving it insolvent. It’s shares are currently suspended on the London Stock Exchange.

Group Companies

Studio Retail Limited

Studio Retail Limited, formerly Express Gifts Ltd, the largest company within the Findel plc group, sells clothing, greeting cards, gifts, home and garden items through its Studio and Ace catalogues and websites. Studio Retail Limited is a multi-channel retailer that offers

services through a combination of direct catalogue marketing and online shopping. It is a

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...

proposition offering credit accounts. Studio Retail Limited operates through the brands Studio and Ace, and formerly HalfCost and Health & Home Shopping.

Findel Wholesale Limited

Findel Europe B.V.

Findel Sourcing (Shanghai) Limited, Findel Asia Sourcing Limited, Express Gifts Philippines Inc.

Findel Asia Sourcing; sources products for group companies and third parties. Express Gifts Limited Philippines Inc. provides call centre services to Express Gifts Limited.

History

Findel started as a greeting card company and went public in the early 1960s under the name "Fine Art Developments." It spun off its greeting card business in 1997 as a separate company called "Creative Publishing", which was subsequently acquired by

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

in 1998. The company changed its name to "Findel plc" in 2000 and then to Studio Retail Group plc in 2019. In August 2010, Findel sold CWIO, Confetti.co.uk and I Want One of Those (IWOOT) to

The Hut Group THG plc, formerly The Hut Group, is a British e-commerce retail company headquartered at Manchester Airport, England. It sells own-brand and third-party cosmetics, dietary supplements, luxury goods, and licensed and personalised products onlin ...

. In April 2013, Findel sold its healthcare division, NRS, to LDC, and in March 2015 Findel sold its Kleeneze business to CVSL Inc. In February 2016, Findel sold its online sports retailing business,

Kitbag Kitbag Ltd. is a England sports retailer. The company was purchased by Fanatics, Inc. from Findel PLC in February 2016 for £11.5M, previously the company was purchased by Findel PLC in October 2006 from European Home Retail plc. Stores ...

, to the leading US provider of licensed sports apparel and merchandise,

Fanatics, Inc. Fanatics, Inc. is an American online manufacturer and retailer of licensed sportswear, sports collectibles, NFTs, trading cards, and sports merchandise, as well as sports betting and iGaming. The company began as an American online retailer of ...

, a snub to Mike Ashley &

Sports Direct Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pre ...

who had expressed interest in the brand. Sports Direct acquired an 18.9% share in Findel but was unsuccessful in appointing a director. In April 2017, Findel appointed Phil Maudsley as group CEO. In June 2019, Findel announced plans to rename itself as Studio Retail Group, and this change came into effect in July. In February 2022, Studio Retail Group announced plans to call in administrators after a £25 million funding bid failed. The company was then purchased by

Frasers Group Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pr ...

for £26.8 million.

Leadership

In 2020, Studio Retail Group PLC nominated Paul Kendrick as the CEO of the Group. He took over from the previous CEO, Phil Maudsley, when he retired in March 2021. Kendrick joined the company as Studio Retail's commercial and deputy managing director in May 2016 before being promoted to managing director in April 2017. In December 2019, he was appointed to the company’s Board of Directors.

References

{{Frasers_Group Retail companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Tameside Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom 2022 mergers and acquisitions