We’re proud to have supported bathstore to conquer the world of e-commerce, investing our capital, knowledge, and experience into creating a true, omni-channel strategy.
At the time of our acquisition, the UK’s leading specialist bathroom retailer had over 160 stores nationwide, an annual turnover of £85million and over 500 staff.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
- Invested £11m on brand and product development
- Identified an opportunity for bathstore to become major players in e-commerce
- Created a true omni-channel strategy combining online with bricks and mortar
- Welcomed a secondary management buyout from the bathstore team
THE CHALLENGE
bathstore was owned by Wolseley builders’ merchants, who had opened over 130 stores in five years between 2003 and 2008. But the financial crisis instigated a fall in sales followed by store closures. By 2011, Wolseley had decided that bathstore was no longer core to the group and commenced a sale process.
THE SOLUTION
Endless saw value in bathstore where others didn’t. To secure the company’s future, we acquired bathstore from Wolseley in just two weeks. This was accelerated by the use of our in-house due diligence capabilities and using our own resources to fund the transaction.
We quickly identified that bathstore needed to develop its service and product offering to meet changing consumer demands and expectations . We also saw the opportunity for bathstore to become a major player in e-commerce, implementing a true omni-channel strategy which seamlessly integrated online with bricks and mortar retailing.
THE IMPACT
With a new strategy, bathstore was able to both grow its online sales and expand its store estate, creating new jobs and further cultivating the brand.
Following strong and consistent growth, the bathstore team and Endless welcomed a secondary management buyout in June 2014, led by Chief Executive, Gary Favell.
