The digital-first online retail group: Findel plc

Findel plc is a dynamic multi-channel retailer operating across the business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketplaces. The company trades across two divisions, Studio Retail and Education.

Findel plc is a group containing two digital-first value retailers, Studio and Findel Education.Studio offers a broad range of products to consumers, from clothing to homewares to our traditional Christmas ranges, all supported by our flexible credit offer.Findel Education is a market-leading supplier of educational resources to schools and nurseries.

Deep Dive into Findel

Findel plc is a leading general merchandise supplier to the home and education sectors. Studio Retail offers a diverse range of products to the consumer. Findel Education supplies a majority of schools in the UK with their educational resources and commodity products through its regional and national catalog brands.

Findel plc has one of the largest personalization plants supplying direct to the consumer in the UK where products from cutlery to greetings cards and football kits to children's nightwear are personalized to the customer's requirements: Over 3.2m pieces in total each year.

A significant and increasing percentage of products are now being sold online in home shopping. Online purchasing is also becoming more important in the education sector where Findel is pioneering the technology with local authorities.The Studio Retail consumer business is also supported by a strong financial services arm.

Studio

One of the largest online value retailers in the UK. Whilst historically catalog based, over 75% of customers now shop for our broad range of fashion, home and leisure items, toys and gifts online.

Studio provides a personal shopping service to around 1.9 million customers each year through a combination of direct marketing and online via the studio.co.uk and ace.co.uk websites. Shoppers may choose to pay for their purchase within 28 days or take advantage of our flexible credit offer.

The range of products is diverse covering leisurewear, electrical, household, textile, bedding, furniture, nursery products, gifts, and greeting cards. Many of these can be personalized in the division's in-house facilities which are unmatched in UK retail.All large products are handled at a 500,000 sq.ft. distribution center in Manchester, whilst an automated collation warehouse at Accrington is capable of handling over half a million items per day.

The majority of customers open a flexible account that allows them to choose whether to pay for their purchases immediately or spread the cost over a number of months. Interest is charged on outstanding balances each month.

The Strengths

• State of the art distribution facilities with a unique ability to handle low ticket items profitably
• Highly developed credit operations offering payment flexibility to our customers
• A unique and broad product range supported by our overseas sourcing operations
• The most sophisticated product personalization facility in UK mail order
• Multichannel operations - catalog, internet and face to face
• Significant online presence with over 75% of orders processed online

Findel Education

Findel Education is one of the UK's leading educational resources supplier. Through its established and well-loved brands,the company has been providing resources to nurseries, schools and a large number of other types of educational establishments since 1817. The firm is one-stop-shop for educational supplies; it provides all of the products schools and nurseries need, delivered when they want them, at highly competitive prices.

The company’s extensive choice of over 25,000 resources caters for early years through to higher education and beyond. Its unique offering means that our customers can find everything they need from one complete supplier; for the school, for the classroom, and for the specialist.Findel Education Resources are the choice for educational resources.

The Strengths

• An exceptionally strong portfolio of brands
• The only educational resources supplier offering true nationwide coverage across a broad productspectrum
• A high proportion of our own developed and exclusive products
• Substantial experience in managing major projects
• Exports to over 150 countries worldwide

Greet the Leader

P B Maudsley, CEO: Phil Maudsley joined the Group in 1987 as general manager of a manufacturing subsidiary. He became managing director of the Home Shopping Division in 1994 and was appointed to the Board on 5 April 2004. He was appointed Managing Director of Studio Retail in 2010 before being appointed Group Chief Executive Officer in April 2017.

“Our unique offering means that our customers can find everything they need from one complete supplier; for the school, for the classroom, and for the specialist.”