Move to South Yorkshire
In 1985, Maplin Professional Supplies was created to serve 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 Wombwell, South Yorkshire, and four years later a Far Eastern headquarters was established in Taiwan.
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.[11] In December 1994, Maplin was acquired by Saltire PLC.[11]
In 1999, Maplin launched its own website, and the following year, sales from the site hit UK £1million. The Southend-on-Sea headquarters also closed in 2000, and all operations were moved to Wombwell. In June 2001, the company changed hands again, this time with a management buyout backed by Graphite Capital.[12]
Far East Operations
Maplin Far East Operations was first established in 1992 when Maplin Electronics set up its first Far Eastern branch office in Taipei, Taiwan to strengthen buying power.[13]
The office was in charge of product sourcing, purchasing, inspecting, shipping and payment arrangement from Taiwan and was known as the Far East Operations Centre. The Hong Kong Office followed in 1995[13] to handle the sourcing, purchasing and shipping from Hong Kong.
As most production in Taiwan and Hong Kong had moved to mainland China, the company registered a representative office in Shenzhen under the Hong Kong Office in 2004. The three offices in the Far East handled more than 500 suppliers and 5,000 buying items for the parent company.
The major product categories included cables, power supplies, electronics components, kits and tools, communication equipment, computers, toys, automotive electronics, and consumer electronics.
Acquisition by Saltire
In December 1994, the private equity firm Saltire plc acquired Maplin Electronics from its founders, with the intention of merging its operations with another electronics distribution business in its portfolio, Altai.[14]
Acquisition by Graphite Capital
In June 2001, Graphite Capital led the £41 million management buy out of Maplin.[15]
Acquisition by Montagu
In September 2004, Montagu Private Equity purchased 67% of Maplin from Graphite Capital at a cost of £244 million.[16] 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, Rotherham, two miles from the old warehouse in Wombwell.
Maplin discontinued the processing of orders outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland in January 2010. Later in 2010, Montagu said they were evaluating their options with Maplin, because the value of their investment has been realised.[17] It was envisaged that when the market conditions were right, Maplin would float on the London Stock Exchange.[18]
Debt free
At the end of 2012, Maplin announced it was officially out of debt from its creditor Montagu Equity.[18]
Drop ship vending
In June 2013, Maplin introduced drop ship vending, allowing them to offer a far greater range of stock for sale online than available in-store.
Acquisition by Rutland Partners
In March 2014, Montagu Private Equity put Maplin up for sale with an expected return of between £100 million and £200 million. On 27 June 2014, Rutland Partners announced they were acquiring Maplin from Montagu for £85 million.[19] Rutland typically focuses on restructuring opportunities, "special situation" investments. £5m of the capital was provided by Beringea from funds provided by Proven and Proven Growth and Income VCTs.[20][21]
In September 2015, Oliver Meakin was appointed as CEO, setting new strategy for home automation and App based technology. In January 2018, Graham Harris was appointed new CEO replacing Oliver Meakin. It was reported in February 2018 that the company was seeking a buyer, and attempted to enter into a "pre pack" administration deal as part of a sale.[22]
