Wren Kitchens
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Retail & Manufacturing |
| Founded | Howden, United Kingdom (2009) |
| Headquarters | Barton-Upon-Humber, United Kingdom |
Number of locations |
 55 |
Area served | United Kingdom. |
Key people | Armando Sanchez (Managing Director) Mark Jonathan Pullan, company secretary Jane Marie Oldfield, Linda Barker |
| Products | Kitchens, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Furniture |
| Revenue |
£197 million [1] |
Number of employees |
2,175 (2015)[1] |
| Website |
www |
Wren Kitchens (also known as Wren Living) is a privately owned British designer, manufacturer and retailer of kitchen, bathroom and bedroom cabinets and furniture. The company has 55 showrooms across the United Kingdom, and its headquarters, known as The Nest, in Barton-Upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England. They have collaborated with interior designer, Linda Barker, on designing a kitchen collection.[2] In August 2013, Wren bought a 750,000 square foot plant in Barton-upon-Humber from Kimberly-Clark.[3]
Until December 2013, the headquarters were in Howden, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, where it still operates a factory.
History
Wren Kitchens was founded in 2009, and is a sister company of Ebuyer.com, which was founded in November 2000. The management team behind Wren has 35 years' experience within the kitchen market, in both the United Kingdom & United States. The team traded for 10 years in the United States, before the business was sold, and the team moved back to the United Kingdom. This was where they built a £250 million internet retailing business. Wren was established in 2009, offering customers fully assembled kitchen units.
Production plant
Wren manufactures their kitchens and bedroom furniture, in its own production plant in Scunthorpe,[4] North Lincolnshire, where it created 300 jobs.[5] Wren invested an additional £5M into the production plant and its machinery in 2013, creating a further 100 jobs within the Scunthorpe area.[6] In August 2013, Wren bought a 750,000 square foot plant in Barton-upon-Humber from Kimberly-Clark.[3] Wren have invested in excess of £70 million into manufacturing to date.[1]
Showrooms
Wren products are sold exclusively through its own retail outlets, a growing network of showrooms. Between 2009–2015, Wren opened showrooms in Aberdeen, Ashton-under-Lyne, Basildon, Beckton, Bedford, Bristol, Cardiff, Colchester, Chelmsford, Chester, Darlington, Doncaster, Dundee, Erdington, Gateshead, Glasgow, Gloucester, Guildford, Hamilton, Harlow, Hayes, Hemel Hempstead, Howden, Huddersfield, Hull, Ipswich, Lincoln, Liverpool, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Orpington, Oxford, Paisley, Poole, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, Southampton, Solihull, Staples Corner, Stevenage, Stirling, Stoke, Swansea, Swindon, Thanet, Thurrock, Warrington & York.
Training
In 2015, Wren invested over £200,000 in a training academy at their headquarters in Barton-upon-Humber for their staff.[7] It has the capacity to train 57 delegates, who undergo a two-week induction programme including a session with Linda Barker.[8]
Related companies
Wren Kitchens is a subsidiary of Ebuyer.com, a United Kingdom online retailer of computer and electrical goods.
Consumer confidence
In June 2011, Wren launched a bid to protect consumer confidence in United Kingdom, companies in the kitchen and bedroom sector, following the demise of the HomeForm Group.[9] The company offered to honour quotes given by Moben Kitchens and Sharps Bedrooms to ensure anyone who had paid up to a 50% deposit would not be left out of pocket.[10]
In June 2011, in an article in The Times[11] the aggressive expansion of Wren Kitchens and Bedrooms was cited as the reason for HomeForm Group, (parent company of Möben Kitchens & Sharps Bedrooms) being put into administration. Wren subsequently offered to protect the deposits of customers affected by the collapse of the group.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 "300 jobs to be created by Wren Living as kitchen maker announces plan for another major expansion". Scunthorpe Telegraph.
- ↑ "Wren relaunches as Wren Living".
- 1 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-23614941
- ↑ "£20m Foxhills Furniture Factory Open Doors".
- ↑ "Kitchen Maker Cooks 320 Jobs".
- ↑ "Wren Kitchens & Bedrooms Expansion".
- ↑ "TV celebrity Linda Barker on Wren Kitchens partnership and the changing British kitchen".
- ↑ "Changing Rooms TV star Linda Barker launches Wren Living academy".
- ↑ "Customers told protect deposits credit cards collapse big stores".
- ↑ "Wren Kitchens fly rescue Moben sinks".
- ↑ "Aggressive Expansion of Wren Kitchens brings downfall for HomeForm Group".
- ↑ "Wren Kitchens helps rival's customers".