![The Range - Tulip Retail Park - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/The_Range_-_Tulip_Retail_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_483123.jpg)
The Range is a multi-channel retailer selling products in the home, garden, and leisure categories, with over 180 stores in the United Kingdom & Ireland.
History
In 1980,
Chris Dawson started business as an open-air market trader in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
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".
This trading style continues to be displayed on external signage exclusively at this debut store only, as a nod to the heritage of the business.
The business was subsequently re-branded "The Range" in the early 1990s after further store openings. "The Range" is the trading name of CDS (Superstores International) Ltd.
Controversy
On 12 May 2021, Trustpilot investigates The Range over ‘incentives for reviews’. The investigation comes after The Grocer highlighted to Trustpilot a flurry of recent five-star reviews of the business.
During the Covid 19 pandemic in 2021, The Range was called upon to repay millions of pounds of taxpayer money which it had saved by keeping its stores open during lockdown. The funds are expected to be valued at 36 million and attained via the Government's 'Business Rates Holiday'. The Range claims that it is keeping the money to invest in the company and not follow suit in handing it back like their larger rivals B&M and Tesco. The Range is under no legal obligation to repay the money, but the company's latest financial statement says trading has been strong through the pandemic and it expects to see 'significant growth' in 2021, with healthy cash reserves.
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 companies shares with her husband Chris Dawson listed as a person with significant control.
Chris Dawson was ranked fifth in
Management Today
Haymarket Media Group is a privately held media company headquartered in London. It has publications in the consumer, business and customer sectors, both print and online. It operates exhibitions allied to its own publications, and previously on ...
'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. 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
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', ''
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
'' ''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. New store openings such as the Swansea store 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
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, unti ...
and
Atlantic Homecare
Woodie's is an Irish DIY and home improvement retailing company. Founded in 1987 in Walkinstown, Dublin and opening the first store in the same year, it is a part of Grafton Group plc. Woodie's is a nationwide company, having over thirty ...
During 2016 and 2017, The Range opened stores in both Northern Ireland 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.
The retailer currently operates a total of 176 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 and the EU Top 350 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. 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
Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in locations including off ...
and found only within The Range stores. Newer, larger stores offer an
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
food department (paid for at main tills), and the cafes in stores with Iceland are branded 'Iceland Cafe'.
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
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...
, Bristol and
Thorne, Doncaster.
The Avonmouth distribution centre has an area of over 1,250,000 sq ft and is the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom.
The Thorne distribution centre has an area of over 750,000 sq ft.
Head office
The Range Head Office used to be in the
Estover
Estover is a district in Devon, England, within the Plymouth boundary area. The original hamlet was extensively developed during the 1970s, into what became back then a large housing estate, consisting almost entirely of council houses (construc ...
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.
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.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Range Home and Leisure
Arts and crafts retailers
British companies established in 1989
Retail companies established in 1989
1989 establishments in the United Kingdom
Garden centres
British brands
Home improvement companies of the United Kingdom
Retail companies of the United Kingdom
Discount shops of the United Kingdom
Companies based in Plymouth, Devon