Maplin Electronics, Kingston-upon-Thames
Maplin Kingston, Eden Walk
2-6 Alderman Judge MallEden Walk
Kingston-Upon-Thames
Surrey KT1 1BS
Tel : +44 [0]208 549 8180
Maplin Electronics, Eden Walk, Kingston-upon-Thames ©2009 wwp
Location Map: here
Maplin Electronics Website: www.Maplin.co.uk
History of Maplin Electronics
It all started in a bedroom in Essex. Today Maplin spans the world. One thing has not changed: the company really knows its customers.
"We launched our business for people like us. Finding electronic components wasn't easy in 1972. Many companies advertised items but most were government or industrial surplus and although cheap, were often inconsistent in their quality and availability". As electronics enthusiasts themselves. Roger Allen and Doug Simmons, both GPO telephone engineers at the time, were well aware of the failings of existing suppliers. In their spare time they made equipment for pop groups such as fuzz pedals and sound compressors, but were often unable to obtain quality components. "There were plenty of catalogues, but you didn't necessarily get what was in them." said Roger. "We thought there must be lots of people like us - people trying to produce professional equipment or hobbyists looking for a reliable source of quality components." Joined by Roger's wife Sandra, a mother of two young daughters, and using a bedroom in the Allen's home in Rayleigh, Essex, they set up Maplin Electronic Supplies.
Milestones on the road to success
1972: Roger and Sandra Allen and Doug Simmons start up Maplin Electronic Supplies as a mail order business, working from the Allens' house in Rayleigh Essex
1975: The first Maplin shop opens, in Westcliff on Sea Essex
1975: Sales receive a big boost after Maplin is invited to take prime advertising space in IPC electronics magazines. A second shop is opened, in Hammersmith, London
1979: The Maplin catalogue is printed in colour for the first time
1981 Electronics - The Maplin Magazine launched
1985: Maplin Professional Supplies (MPS) created to service the expanding business market
1989: The National Distribution Centre opens at Wombwell, South Yorkshire
1993: Far East headquarters are established in Taiwan
1994: Maplin is acquired by Saltire PLC
1995: The first Maplin Superstore is opened in Leeds
1996: The Maplin and MPS catalogues are merged into a single twice-yearly catalogue.
1997: Two more superstores open, in Nottingham and Thurrock, Essex. Maplin now has more than 40 stores in the UK and 740 staff.
1998: Maplin Electronics launches its catalogue CD Rom.
1999: The launch of the fully interactive Internet Site including online catalogue and live ordering facility.
2000: The company moves back to one annual catalogue. Opens first store in the Republic Of Ireland. Internet site quickly breaks the £1m sales barrier. Closed facility in Southend and consolidated the operation on a single site in Barnsley.
2001: Company went through an MBO backed by Graphite capital.
2002: Celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the business. Dr Keith Pacey becomes Executive Chairman and Graham Caldwell becomes Managing Director.
2003: Eight new stores opened in the first half of the year. Maplin now has more than 75 stores in the UK and 1200 staff.
Maplin - The Past
They printed their first 28-page catalogue, took a small advertisement in an electronics magazine and waited for the phone to ring. "We were the only people at the time to say phone us and we'll send you a free catalogue," Roger recalled. "We thought we'd have to get extra phone lines in to cope with the demand., but in the first week we had about ten calls". "We thought that if we offered the lowest prices, the fastest service and a catalogue which actually delivered what it promised, we would be an instant success". "Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that wasn't the case. We found out that it was a long time before people gave us a try." Nevertheless, word began to spread, and while Roger and Doug remained in their full-time jobs for another year, and the company didn't make a profit, Maplin gradually built up business and its reputation. They realised that, in addition to products, customers wanted technical information, so the second catalogue contained much more detail. By 1975, the 28 pages had become 216 and contained complete projects.
The first Maplin Store in Westcliff
The business was growing on its unique reputation for offering first grade electronic components, which could be repeated and were delivered exactly as shown in the catalogue - and all by first class mail. Within two years a second demand had become apparent - a place where hobbyists could go to buy their components - and Maplin opened its first shop in Westcliff. The mail order business moved in upstairs.
Breakthrough
The first major breakthrough came in 1975 when IPC Magazines, alarmed at, the number of complaints against some of their existing advertisers, offered Maplin the prime advertising position in their electronics journals. Sales received an immediate boost and Maplin's reputation for reliability, price and quality soared.
A further breakthrough came in 1978 with the first catalogue to feature colour, and an expanded product range and more technical data and information than ever before. Maplin had to double its staff to cope with the demand. Successive catalogues introduced major innovations. The first laser available to the amateur, and, in 1981, the first home computer. That year also saw the launch of a new magazine for enthusiasts, Electronics. MPS, then the Maplin Professional Supplies, was created in 1985 to service the expanding professional market, with a catalogue of products selected specifically for professionals and the business market. For the next decade the business continued to grow, but Maplin was in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. "By 1994 we were turning over £29 million a year." said Roger Allen. "but the rate of growth we needed to maintain wasn't going to be possible without us teaming up with someone else" "We didn't think we could stretch the company to accommodate the rate at which we needed to grow to remain a credible supplier. Other people were getting together to form bigger and bigger organisations and we felt we could get left behind." "We looked around for someone who wasn't just going to swallow us up, but had some electronic presence which didn't conflict with ours. Saltire fitted the bill perfectly. Maplin was acquired by Saltire in late 1994, and less than a year later opened the first of a new generation of retail outlets, the Maplin Superstore in Leeds.
1,000s of products
The business continues to grow and the product range is very extensive. Over 15,000 products are available from the catalogue, e-commerce and store network. The broad product categories are Sound & Vision, Computer products and Hobbies & Electronics. Maplin introduce hundreds of new and exciting products every month and pride themselves on their unique product offer.
E commerce
Maplin Launched its transactional website in 1999, and at the time it was very unique. Not only did it provide access to all the products in the business but it also checked stock availability and reserved items for customers in real time. The site had to live up to their customer’s expectations from day one which meant they had to engineer more features into the site. The site very quickly received over 1 million hits per month and is regularly used by thousands of customers.
Maplins - The Future
The business continues to expand its operation in the Far East and is constantly looking to find new, interesting and innovative products for its customers. Dr Keith Pacey comments “I am extremely pleased that the business has been able to make the transition into a successful retailer in a complex and difficult market” he said “I know that the team are really looking forward to the next chapter in this businesses development”. Maplin Electronics is investing in expansion of the National Distribution Centre.
Further Store openings are also planned in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
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