Wolseley UK
Encyclopedia
Wolseley UK is the holding company for several well-known United Kingdom builders merchants, including Bathstore
, Plumb Center. Wolseley UK is the country's largest supplier of building materials, with trade customers (plumbers and builders) accounting for the largest proportion of its sales. It does, however, have retail showrooms around the UK which are open to the general public.
, Yorkshire
and was the city's largest employer. Relations with the city were not always cordial - the company initially blocked plans for a road bypass which threatened to limit its plans for expansion, and every so often letters appear in the local paper, the Ripon Gazette bemoaning the 'American' spelling of the word Center. However, the spelling is an affectation conceived to be distinctive, rather than because it has any specific meaning.
In July 2004, the company announced that its head office was to be relocated to Leamington Spa
, Warwickshire
. This was a blow to the city of Ripon which had just lost its higher education college. A regional office including the central human resources and information technology functions remains in the city.
The trading name of Plumb Center was acquired in the 1980s and extended to include Build Center, Drain Center, and Hire Center. The company later acquired several other UK companies (e.g. Broughton-Crangrove) and significant operations in France, Austria and Italy.
In 2004, the company undertook a rebranding exercise and its main outlets are now known as Plumb Center , Build Center, Pipe Center , Parts Center
, Drain Center , Climate Center and Intergrated Supply Chain, (formerly Maintenance Center). Since 2004, Wolseley UK has continued to expand through the acquisition of companies including ENCON and the highly successful Bathstore
business, which was acquired by Wolseley Plc
in 2003. As of 2010 Wolseley no longer participates in the Hire Industry, having sold their ownership of Brandon hire for a £42m Loss. On July 13th, 2011 it was announced that Wolseley is to sell off the Electric Center arm of their company to rivals Edmundson.
With parent company Wolseley Plc's ownership of similar operations in North America, Wolseley UK is a major part of one of the largest network of builders merchants in the world. This gives it advantages over competitors in terms of pricing and stock. Wolseley UK is no longer involved in manufacturing, instead it focuses on distributing and selling bought-in products.
Bathstore
Bathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena...
, Plumb Center. Wolseley UK is the country's largest supplier of building materials, with trade customers (plumbers and builders) accounting for the largest proportion of its sales. It does, however, have retail showrooms around the UK which are open to the general public.
History
The company's headquarters used to be in RiponRipon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and was the city's largest employer. Relations with the city were not always cordial - the company initially blocked plans for a road bypass which threatened to limit its plans for expansion, and every so often letters appear in the local paper, the Ripon Gazette bemoaning the 'American' spelling of the word Center. However, the spelling is an affectation conceived to be distinctive, rather than because it has any specific meaning.
In July 2004, the company announced that its head office was to be relocated to Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. This was a blow to the city of Ripon which had just lost its higher education college. A regional office including the central human resources and information technology functions remains in the city.
The trading name of Plumb Center was acquired in the 1980s and extended to include Build Center, Drain Center, and Hire Center. The company later acquired several other UK companies (e.g. Broughton-Crangrove) and significant operations in France, Austria and Italy.
In 2004, the company undertook a rebranding exercise and its main outlets are now known as Plumb Center , Build Center, Pipe Center , Parts Center
Parts Center
Parts Center is a supplier of spare parts for boilers and other heating products and is a subsidiary of Wolseley Plc, the global building materials company that owns brands such as Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK...
, Drain Center , Climate Center and Intergrated Supply Chain, (formerly Maintenance Center). Since 2004, Wolseley UK has continued to expand through the acquisition of companies including ENCON and the highly successful Bathstore
Bathstore
Bathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena...
business, which was acquired by Wolseley Plc
Wolseley (builders' merchant)
Wolseley plc is a global building materials supplier company headquartered near Reading, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest heating and plumbing distributor to the professional market and has approximately 47,000 employees in 25 countries...
in 2003. As of 2010 Wolseley no longer participates in the Hire Industry, having sold their ownership of Brandon hire for a £42m Loss. On July 13th, 2011 it was announced that Wolseley is to sell off the Electric Center arm of their company to rivals Edmundson.
With parent company Wolseley Plc's ownership of similar operations in North America, Wolseley UK is a major part of one of the largest network of builders merchants in the world. This gives it advantages over competitors in terms of pricing and stock. Wolseley UK is no longer involved in manufacturing, instead it focuses on distributing and selling bought-in products.