The Works (retailer)
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Coleshill, Warwickshire, England[1] |
Number of locations | 525 (stores)[2] |
Area served | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Key people | Dean Hoyle (Chairman) Gavin Peck (Group CEO)[3] |
| Products | Books, stationery, arts, crafts and toys |
| Revenue |  £264.6 million (2022)[4] |
| Owner | Dean Hoyle (15%) |
| Website | theworks |
TheWorks.co.uk PLC, trading as The Works, is a discount retailer based in the United Kingdom selling books, art and craft materials, gifts, toys, games and stationery. It has more than 500 stores across the UK and Ireland as of September 2026.[5]
_-_Chatham,_Kent,_England.jpg)
Stores
[edit]The Works stores are categorised into five product "zones": Kids (toys, games etc.), Arts and Craft, Stationery, Family Gifts, and Seasonal/Regional, which includes a selection of local interest and tourist-specific ranges. TheWorks.co.uk, the company's first e-commerce platform, was launched in January 2012.
The company's loyalty card scheme, 'Together', was launched in 2013, and had reached one million members by the end of 2016.[6][7] The scheme closed down in March 2024.
History
[edit]Establishment
[edit]The Works has its origins when husband and wife Mike and Jane Crossley started selling remaindered books from their front room in 1981.[8] The company was founded in 1981 as discount bookstore Remainders Limited.[9] The Crossleys had both worked for British Leyland in Oxford whilst Mike Crossley's brother had been winding down a business in the West Midlands.
Growth
[edit]By 1984 the Crossleys had opened their first shop in Halesowen though this no longer features as a branch in the company's chain of stores. Over the next 16 years they expanded the business to open over 160 shops in the UK and Ireland, operating as Remainders Ltd. from a purpose-built base on an industrial park at Minworth opened in 1999[10] and achieving a turnover of £60m through a workforce of 1,200.[11] In 2001, the Crossleys acquired 19 stores in the West Midlands, North West and Wales from failed retailer First Stop Stationery in a £1m deal. Like their high street stores these were re-badged as The Works as opposed to their range of factory shop outlets then called Book Depot.
In 2001, Remainders Ltd.'s success won the Crossleys the Birmingham Post's Business of the Month for May[12] and, in November, Business of the Year award, which they received from the Duke of Kent at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham.
New management team
[edit]The Crossley's sold Remainders Ltd. to a management buyout in 2003 for around £25m.[13] At this point the chain had grown to 176 stores with 1,500 staff, an annual turnover of £70m and reported profits in excess of £4m. The new management team was backed by Primary Capital[14] and led by new Chairman Terry Norris. Norris had built up the Rhino Video Games retail business which he sold to Electronics Boutiques after it built up losses.
The new management regime continued to expand the business but began to struggle financially. Another Management buyout followed in 2005 when Hermes Private Equity Partners took a 79% interest. Problems persisted and plans for further expansion were abandoned in 2007. Accounts filed in 2006 showed losses totalling £54m. The Works acquired 26 outlets of the Bargain Books and Bookworld chains in 2007 after their parent company went into administration.[15][16]
Administration and change of ownership
[edit]The Works itself entered administration in January 2008.[17] The Works was placed into administration with liabilities of over £79.5m against assets of £6.6m.[18] The administrators, Kroll, closed 85 loss-making stores from a total of 317 and cut over 25% of the 1,600 strong workforce.
The business was subsequently purchased by the private equity firm Endless in May 2008.[19] The Works was rescued from administration in June 2008 by Anthony Solomon and private equity firm Endless, based in Leeds for £15m.[20] At this point the chain had contracted to 226 stores with a turnover of £100m. Solomon brought in a new MD, Bob Lister, who had worked with him previously at The Factory Shop Group.[21] Under the new team, the business began to recover and expand once more, with some stores re-opening and other new shops on fresh sites. Total sales for 2008/9 reached £88.8m and by July 2010 the number of outlets had climbed back to 260.[22] The owners then declared their intention to sell the chain in early 2011 for £80m.
Hoyle became chairman of the discount retailer after a "sizeable cash investment" in July 2015.[23]
It was announced in July 2018 that The Works, approximately one-third owned by Hoyle, would have an initial public offering and a valuation of £100 million.[24] Hoyle retained the largest shareholding of 15% after the flotation.
Lost shops
[edit]Many shops were closed after The Works went into administration in early 2008. Others have closed on the expiry of leases or when other premises became available. Shops which have closed include:
- Bolton: Unit 7B, The Linkway
- London
- Camden Town: 197 Camden High Street (now American Apparel)
- Covent Garden: Unit 10, The Piazza (as Banana Bookshop)
- Oxford Street: 16 Oxford Street
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "About Us". Corporate at The Works. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017.
- ↑ "The Works warns of slowdown amid cost-of-living crisis". www.retailgazette.co.uk. 20 May 2022.
- ↑ "Gavin Peck - The Works". www.theworks.co.uk.
- ↑ "Shares in The Works surge after strong sales and return to profit". www.theguardian.com. 23 September 2022.
- ↑ "Stores - The Works". www.theworks.co.uk.
- ↑ "The Works launches loyalty card scheme in 'value sector first'". retail-week.com. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ↑ "Our journey- The Works". www.theworks.co.uk.
- ↑ Birmingham Post, 28 June 2001.
- ↑ "Affordability is all". The Bookseller. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ↑ ACK Ltd Case Study, c.2004
- ↑ Birmingham Post & Mail, 2001
- ↑ Birmingham Post & Mail, 2001
- ↑ Birmingham Post & Mail, 2003
- ↑ Clearwater Corporate Finance news item, 31 July 2003
- ↑ "The Works buys Bookworld owner out of administration". www.business-sale.com. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ↑ "Book company sale saves 160 jobs". bbc.co.uk. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2019 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "The Works goes into administration". thebookseller.com. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ↑ Birmingham Post, 25 March 2008
- ↑ "The Works | Endless LLP". www.endlessllp.com. May 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
- ↑ The Bookseller, 21 August 2008
- ↑ Endless news item, 10 October 2008
- ↑ The Independent, 30 July 2010
- ↑ "CARD FACTORY FOUNDER, DEAN HOYLE, JOINS THE WORKS AS CHAIRMAN". endlessllp.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- ↑ Booth, James (13 July 2018). "Private equity-backed retailer The Works launches £100m London float". Retrieved 16 July 2018.
External links
[edit]
