Hobbycraft

Last updated

Hobbycraft
Native name
Hob Craft LTD
Company typePrivate
Industry Retail, arts and crafts sector
Founded1995
Headquarters Christchurch, Dorset, UK, ,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
100 (2021) Increase2.svg [1]
Area served
Physical stores in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Online through Global-E (worldwide)
Key people
Owner, Adam Howarth OBE
ProductsArt, craft and hobbyist materials
Revenue£176.9m (2020/21) Decrease2.svg
Number of employees
2,236 (2021) [1]
Parent Bridgepoint
Website hobbycraft.co.uk

Hobbycraft is an arts and crafts superstore retail chain in the United Kingdom. [2] [3] It is currently owned by investment group Bridgepoint.

Contents

History

Hobbycraft in High Wycombe Hobbycraft in the Wycombe Retail Park (geograph 3760055)(cropped).png
Hobbycraft in High Wycombe
Hobbycraft, Borehamwood Hobbycraft, Borehamwood.jpg
Hobbycraft, Borehamwood
Hobbycraft in Tunbridge Wells, using the former logo Hobbycraft Store, Tunbridge Wells (geograph 1693806)(cropped).png
Hobbycraft in Tunbridge Wells, using the former logo

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. [4] [5]

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. [6] 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 and he believed they would do well despite difficulties in the economy. [7] [8]

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 and Woolworths Group companies in which he had held active senior director/shareholder roles. [9] [10]

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. [10] [11] 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." [12]

In September 2014, it was revealed that Hobbycraft's profits had halved, due to chains such as Aldi, Lidl, Poundland, and online retailers such as Amazon 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. [13]

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." [14] [15] [16]

At the start of December 2014, Bridgepoint brought in retail veteran Archie Norman in the hope of turning around the fortunes of the company. [17]

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." [18]

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. [19]

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. [20]

In August 2023, Hobbycraft launched its first mobile app, giving customers the ability to search for product, help, and inspiration as well as manage and display their loyalty Club information.

Controversies

Related Research Articles

Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather-goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, the company expanded into the hobby market, making leather moccasins and coin purses, making huge sales among Scouts, leading to a fast growth in sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingfisher plc</span> British multinational home improvement retail company

Kingfisher plc is a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iceland (supermarket)</span> British supermarket chain

Iceland Foods Limited, trading as Iceland, is a British supermarket chain headquartered in Deeside, Wales. It mainly sells frozen foods, including prepared meals and vegetables, alongside non-frozen grocery items such as produce, meat, dairy and dry goods. The company also operates a chain of shops called The Food Warehouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolworths Group (Australia)</span> Australian multinational retail company

Woolworths Group Limited is an Australian multinational retail and finance company, primarily known for the operation of its retail chain Woolworths Supermarkets across Australia, Woolworths in New Zealand and its discount department store Big W. Headquartered in Bella Vista, Sydney, it is the largest company in Australia by revenue and number of employees, and the second-largest in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Very Group</span> Online retailer

The Very Group Limited is a multi-brand online retailer and financial services provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head offices are based in the Speke area of the city of Liverpool, England. The brand was established in November 2005 as a result of the merger of the former Littlewoods and Shop Direct companies. The retailer was known as Littlewoods Shop Direct Group until a corporate rebranding to Shop Direct Group in May 2008. In 2013, the company rebranded to Shop Direct, dropping the 'group' from its name. Shop Direct rebranded themselves to The Very Group in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolworths (United Kingdom)</span> British retail company (1909–2009)

Woolworths was a British high-street retail chain. At its height, it operated as Woolworths Group PLC, which included other companies such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK, and book and resource distributor Bertram Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&Q</span> British multinational home improvement DIY store chain owned by Kingfisher plc

B&Q Limited is a British multinational DIY and home improvement retailing company, with headquarters in Eastleigh, England. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc. It was founded in March 1969 by Richard Block and David Quayle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMV</span> Public entertainment retailing company

HMV is a music and entertainment retailer, founded in the United Kingdom in 1921. As of February 2024, it is currently operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Belgium, as well as having concessions at Toys "R" Us locations in Canada.

Dick Smith Electronics Holdings Limited was an Australian chain of retail stores that sold consumer electronics goods, hobbyist electronic components, and electronic project kits. The chain expanded successfully into New Zealand and unsuccessfully into several other countries. The company was founded in Sydney in 1968 by Dick Smith and owned by him and his wife until they sold 60% to Woolworths in 1980, and the remaining 40% two years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessops</span> British photographic retailing company

Jessops (Group) Limited is a British photographic retailing company. It was established in 1935 by Frank Jessop in Leicester, United Kingdom. The company controls Jessops Europe Limited, which in turn control JR Prop Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Group</span> Electrical online retailer

Comet Electricals Limited, trading as Comet, is an online electrical retail chain based in the United Kingdom. The company sells consumer electronics and white goods, along with related products and services. Its predecessor, under the same brand name, pioneered the concept of the out-of-town discount warehouse in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foot Locker</span> American multinational footwear and sportswear retail company

Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational sportswear and footwear retailer headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in over 40 countries.

T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912.

Home Bargains is a British variety store chain founded in 1976 by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England, as Home and Bargain. It is the trading name of TJ Morris Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poundland</span> British variety and discount store chain

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 landlords who had reservations about allowing a single-price store to operate, fearing it could adversely affect the local competition. An estimated 7 million customers shopped in Poundland every week in 2016, many being female shoppers in the C1, C2, D and E categories. Following a drop in share price of over 50%, Poundland was acquired in August 2016 by Steinhoff International for £610 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent Limited</span> Indian retail company

Trent Limited is an Indian retail company, which is part of the Tata Group and based in Mumbai. Started in 1998, Trent owns and operates fashion and lifestyle retail formats such as Westside, Zudio and Utsa. The company also runs retail chains like Star Bazaar and Zara through joint ventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">99p Stores</span> British discount store chain

99p Stores Ltd. was a family-run business founded in January 2001 by entrepreneur Nadir Lalani, who opened the first store in the chain in Holloway, London, with a further three stores opening later that year. In 2002, Lalani decided to expand the business throughout the UK and had rapidly developed 99p Stores, operating a total of 129 stores as of March 2010 and serving around 1.5 million customers each week, undercutting their main rival Poundland by a penny. As of mid-2009 the company offered more than 3,500 different product lines throughout its stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&M</span> Variety retailers in the United Kingdom

B&M European Value Retail S.A., trading as B&M, is a British multinational variety store chain founded in 1978 and incorporated in Luxembourg. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Wiggle is an online brand of the Frasers Group, having been bought after WiggleCRC went into administration with losses of £97 million.

References

  1. 1 2 "Best Companies / Hobbycraft Company Profile".
  2. HobbyCraft website
  3. "Latest news, insight and analysis on HobbyCraft". RetailWeek. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  4. Thompson, James (30 April 2010). "Bridgepoint pays £100m for HobbyCraft stores". The Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  5. "HobbyCraft acquired by Bridgepoint | Bridgepoint". Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  6. "Time up for craft store". Hunts Post.
  7. Hobbycraft expands store portfolio
  8. Hobbycraft boss predicts craft explosion
  9. "UK retailers MFI and Woolworths collapse". Wikinews. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2015.Press Release, Woolworths (7 May 1996). "Woolworths Group PLC - Director/PDMR Shareholding". Woolworths . Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 Murphy, Margi (18 September 2014). "Hobbycraft reveals £2.8m exceptional costs after relocation". Computerworld . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  11. Mail, Burton (10 December 2014). "BUSINESS: Burton plays part in Hobbycraft earnings drop". Burton Mail . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  12. "Hobbycraft reveals £2.8m exceptional costs after relocation". Insider Media. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  13. "Hobbycraft takes 200,000sq ft Burton DC". Park Logistics. 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  14. Wood, Zoe (16 September 2014). "Hobbycraft's annual profits halve as supermarkets win price war". The Times . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  15. Chapman, Matthew (16 September 2014). "Hobbycraft profits down after investment as it prepares loyalty card". Retail Week . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  16. Jane, Sarah (23 September 2014). "Hobbycraft Profits Down After Investment in Retail Initiative". Craft Business. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  17. Clark, Andrew (5 December 2014). "Norman gets a new toy to play with at Hobbycraft". The Times . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  18. "Hobbycraft appoints Tesco CEO as chairman | Post". Retailsector.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  19. "Hobbycraft plans multichannel expansion via small format shops – and says its online sales grew by 200% during the Covid-19 lockdown". Internet Retailing. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  20. "Hobbycraft Revealed as Fourth Best Big Company to Work for in UK". Internet Retailing. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  21. Ryan, John (9 June 2011). "HobbyCraft: Honing its Craft". Retail Week . Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  22. "Queen's Hospital A&E shuts in powder scare". BBC Stoke & Staffordshire. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  23. Russo, Sergio (16 September 2014). "Retailer Hobbycraft's foreign staff face disciplinary action if they speak in their own language". HR Review. Retrieved 7 April 2015.