Online retailer Buy It Direct has confirmed it has put in an offer to acquire the Maplin brand.
Huddersfield-based Buy it Direct, which owns retail brands such as AppliancesDirect.co.uk, LaptopsDirect.co.uk & Furniture123.co.uk, employs 450 staff and has a turnover of £184 million.
If its bid for the retailer’s brand and website is successful, Maplin would be relaunched as an online business.
Zelf Hussain, Toby Underwood and Ian Green from PwC were appointed as joint administrators of Maplin Electronics Ltd in February 2018.
The Rotherham-headquartered retailer, which at the time had more than 200 stores across the UK, had been in talks with a number of potential buyers but it had not been possible to complete a solvent sale of the business.
“Maplin will be a great addition to our portfolio of brands. We have a multi-site strategy with each website reflecting a depth of knowledge around the product categories. This expertise is something Maplin also stood for and we believe will still resonate with their customers and ours. We’ve been building up our CCTV, drones and the smart home side of our business which were some of Maplin’s key areas and so with this acquisition, we would have an ideal home for these booming categories. Although Maplin was predominantly store based, we will offer Maplin customers the same level of product expertise and customer care they’re used to, coupled with our competitive pricing, flexible home delivery and extra bolt-on services.”
– Nick Glynne, managing director at Buy It Direct
In May, it was revealed that a total shortfall of more than £215m was expected to Maplin Electronics creditors.
