Bathstore.com Ltd., (also known as bathstore) is the largest specialist

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically ...

retailer 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

History

Bathstore was originally started in the beginning of the 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena. The company published one catalogue that contained all its products for the complete bathroom, with real retail prices. The ethos was to focus on the home owner, rather than the trade buyer. In June 2014, bathstore was sold as part of a management buy out led by chief executive In June 2003, bathstore was acquired by in the United Kingdom. Mr Watson announced plans to sell off Bathstore in November 2017. It launched its first television advertising campaign in December 2006. In November 2007, its television advertisements used CGI technology for the first time, incorporating water animation to bring life and movement to the products being showcased. These advertisements were voiced by the star from '' Spooks'' and ''

Cold Feet Cold feet is a phrase that refers to a person not going through with an action, particularly one which requires long term commitment, due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt. A person is said to be "getting cold feet" when, after previously committin ...

'', Hermione Norris. A period of rapid expansion and brand development under the leadership of executive chairman Nick Nearchou established the business as a speciality bathroom retailer, with more than 150 showrooms in the United Kingdom by the end of 2007. In 2009, the warehousing and delivery operation was transferred to

DHL Supply Chain DHL Supply Chain is a division of Deutsche Post DHL and is affiliated with DHL. Headquartered in Bonn, Deutsche Post has 510,000 employees. In 2016, DHL Supply Chain was primarily competing in strategic life sciences and healthcare, automotive ...

, at their facility at the

Daventry International Railfreight Terminal Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) is a rail-road intermodal freight terminal with an associated warehousing estate in Northamptonshire, England. The facility is located at the junctions between the M1 motorway, A5 and A428 ro ...

near Crick. In May 2012, bathstore was acquired by the turnaround specialist company Endless LLP from Wolseley PLC, as a non core asset acquisition for £15 million cash. In June 2014, bathstore was sold as part of a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...

led by chief executive Gary Favell. In April 2017, bathstore branched out into kitchens and bedrooms. They opened two new fascia Haus Stores in Farnborough and Lakeside, having acquired two former Betta Living premises on 14 April 2017. On 26 June 2019, bathstore went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

. At the time, bathstore had 135 stores in the United Kingdom, employing over five hundred people. In July 2019, it was announced that

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, un ...

had purchased over forty four stores, and that all remaining stores would cease trading once stock was sold.

Awards and recognition

The company was nominated and shortlisted for the Retail Week Awards, as the ''Best Specialist Retailer'' in 2007 and 2008.

References

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External links

Corporate website
Home improvement companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Watford Retail companies established in 1990 Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom