Maplin Electronics
Encyclopedia
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. As of December 2010, there are 180 Maplin Electronics stores in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it operates an extensive web and catalogue based mail-order service.
Early beginnings in Essex and catalogue
Maplin Electronic Supplies was established in 1972 as a small mail order business by Roger Allen and Doug Simmons and assisted by Roger's wife Sandra. The company was based in a bedroom at the Allen's home in Rayleigh, Essex after the two electronics enthusiasts were disappointed by the failings of existing suppliers of electronic components. They took out a small advertisement in an electronics magazine after printing the company's first 28 page catalogue which would be offered free to callers. Despite a slow start and no profit in the first year the company began to build a reputation for offering first grade electronic components which could be delivered exactly as shown in the catalogue by first class post.By 1975 the catalogue had grown to 216 pages with technical specifications and complete projects and the founders realised that an actual retail outlet would be beneficial. The first store opened in nearby Westcliff on Sea, with the mail order business moving in above the shop. Sales received a large boost when Maplin was invited to take prime advertising space in IPC electronics magazines after receiving a number of complaints against some of their existing advertisers. A second store opened in Hammersmith before the year was out. By this time, the mail order business had outgrown the space available above the Westcliff store and a large ex-dairy building a few miles away in Hadleigh was purchased and soon established as Maplin's first warehouse.
Maplin had already started designing electronic kits for hobbyists and musicians, with several major synthesiser and organ projects being published in Electronics & Music Maker, Maplin's first magazine and subsequently being made available as kits. After the move to Hadleigh, the technical team and management launched Electronics - the Maplin Magazine, initially on a quarterly publication schedule and then later as more projects were designed this was increased to an issue a month.
The kits were a perfect vehicle to sell Maplin's components and the articles in Electronics published full circuit diagrams, parts lists and technical articles with full instructions for building and setting up the projects. All this happened in the early 1980's, and the sudden boom in home computer ownership spawned by manufacturers such as Sinclair, Commodore and Atari created opportunities for Maplin to create home build project kits to plug in to these computers such as speech synthesisers, memory expansion cards and extension keyboards, RS232 serial interfaces and so on.
At the height of production of the home build kits Maplin's range was vast, with in house designed power amplifiers, radio kits, a weather station and a full weather satellite receiving and display system and many others, as well as the Heathkit and Velleman ranges of kits. The Maplin catalogue, with its distinctive futuristic space ship and planet themed cover art by Lionel Jeans was crammed with hundreds of application circuits, with each new release being eagerly awaited by the hobbyist community and selling hundreds of thousands of copies each year.
Move to South Yorkshire
In 1985 Maplin Professional Supplies (MPS) was created to service the expanding business market with a catalogue of products selected specifically for professionals and the business market. In 1989 a new National Distribution Centre was opened at WombwellWombwell
Wombwell is a small town near Barnsley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 15,180.Its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow"....
, South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
and four years later a Far Eastern headquarters was established in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
By 1994 Maplin had a turnover of more than £29 million a year and it was clear more help was needed to organise the business so late that year Maplin was acquired by Saltire PLC.
In 1999 Maplin launched its own website and the following year sales from the site hit £1m. The Southend on Sea headquarters also closed in 2000 and all operations were moved to the Wombwell base. In 2001 the company changed hands again, this time with management buyout backed by Graphite Capital
Graphite Capital
Graphite Capital Management is a private equity firm focused on middle market leveraged buyout investments, primarily in the UK. The firm also houses a fund of funds platform that invests in other private equity funds across Europe and the US...
.
Recent activity
Graphite Capital
Graphite Capital Management is a private equity firm focused on middle market leveraged buyout investments, primarily in the UK. The firm also houses a fund of funds platform that invests in other private equity funds across Europe and the US...
at a cost of £244m. In 2007 the company began to relocate its headquarters and distribution centre to a new facility at Brookfields Park on the former Manvers Main Colliery
Manvers Main Colliery
Manvers Main Colliery was a coal mine, sunk on land belonging to the Earl Manvers and was situated on the northern edge of the township of Wath-upon-Dearne, between that town and Mexborough, in the Dearne Valley, South Yorkshire, England...
, Rotherham
Rotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, just two miles from the old warehouse in Wombwell
Wombwell
Wombwell is a small town near Barnsley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 15,180.Its name's origin may mean "Womba's Well", or "well in a hollow"....
.
Maplin discontinued the processing of orders outside of the UK and Ireland in January 2010.
Montagu Private Equity are now evaluating their options with Maplin, as the value of their investment has been realised. It is envisaged that when the market conditions are right, Maplin will be floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
.
Store expansion
As of January 2011, there are 183 Maplin Electronics stores, 14 of which opened in 2010, the most recent in RugbyRugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
. . The company has a medium term goal of 250 retail stores throughout the UK and Ireland, before expanding abroad. It is envisaged that Maplin would look at opening their first mainland Europe store in France as this could be possibly operated from their Rotherham head office.
Product range
Maplin sell a variety of electrical equipment such as audio/visual devices, electrical components, computer components, cables, TV and satellite equipment and everyday electrical items such as batteries, light bulbs, power adaptorPower supply
A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric loads. The term is most commonly applied to devices that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer to devices that convert another form of energy to electrical energy...
s and solar energy panel
Photovoltaic module
A solar panel is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells...
s. The company also sell MP3 players, portable televisions and satellite navigation equipment. The target market ranges from the general consumer to the more technical electronics hobbyist.