back to article Maplin Electronics sold for £85m to Rutland Partners

Electronics retail chain Maplin has been sold to a private equity firm for £85million - just a third of what it was acquired for a decade ago. Rutland Partners has snapped up Maplin and promised to use "change, restructuring and investment" in the pursuit of profitable growth. In a canned statement, Nick Morrill, managing …

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  1. Pete 2 Silver badge

    How the sale went down

    The private equity people walked into the room - at which point all the Maplin staff execs scarpered out of sight. When they did reappear, they were unable to answer the most basic questions about the business, merely reading out what was written about it in the catalogue. They also refused, point blank, to make eye contact.

    When the P/E execs made their offer to buy the outfit, they got the response "sorry, we don't have one in stock at the moment, but if you come back next week, we'll order one for you - but in the mean time, would you like a radio-controlled toy with lots of flashing lights".

    Luckily, the P/E guys were too savvy to fall for the Maplin teams offer of buying an extended warranty with the company (no, you don't get your money back if the company turns out to be broken), but they did buy an extra set of batteries for a bargain £5 million.

    1. TheOtherHobbes

      Re: How the sale went down

      Not entirely fair. I've always found Maplin staff to be more informed than elsewhere. Some of them are even enthusiastic and genuinely helpful.

      E.g. when I had to take a charger back, they had no trouble finding a record of the sale even though it was nine months earlier at another store.

      But they're not cheap. And they're competing with the '50p for a mile of CAT6' Ebay people.

      Shame, but big box retail probably isn't a good thing to be investing in now.

      1. John Arthur
        Coat

        Re: How the sale went down

        TheOtherHobbes: "Not entirely fair. I've always found Maplin staff to be more informed than elsewhere. Some of them are even enthusiastic and genuinely helpful."

        You've been shopping in PC World too much!

        1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

          Re: How the sale went down

          I have been offered - though, to be fair, some years ago - a completely incorrect IC as a substitute for the out-of-stock one I wanted... on the grounds that it had the same package and number of legs.

          The days are sadly gone when the guys in the Hammersmith shop would try to work out what you were building from your shopping list.

          1. Cliff

            Re: How the sale went down

            Don't think I've ever been offered an extended warranty to be frank, and my local Maplin is costly but couldn't be more eager to help and serve. And they have the usual mix of some fun toys, useful stuff, and landfill.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: How the sale went down

              We don't offer extra warranties on anything at Maplin.

              We also get zero pressure from management to sell the customer things they don't need.

              We do get EPOS recommendations popping up on the Till like batteries for that toy, etc.

              Basically common sense addons the manufacturers leave out. If we don't, we get told off and then sacked. So expect us pushing these items at the Till.

              Oh and we get zero commission on sales. So no pressure to sell things that the company may wish to get rid of surplus. They simply reduce the price.

              Yes, we only get paid just above minimum wage. Supermarkets and takeaways pay far more.

              Do I enjoy my job? Yes. Only been with them 3 years. But the working conditions are good and most of us get a kick out of helping the IT ignorant of which is 90+% of the English public.

              1. RubberJohnny

                Re: How the sale went down

                The guys at my local Maplin are a good bunch. One looked at my shopping list and we got into a discussion about balanced and unbalanced audio cables, and when I explained what I was doing with the stuff he agreed with me. They do know their stuff and are most apologetic about the prices of some things.

                I do wish the display shelves wouldn't fall apart when I touch something though.

          2. Martin-73 Silver badge
            Unhappy

            Re: How the sale went down

            It very much varies who you get... the Bevois Valley store in Southampton still has one or two of the original, knowledgeable staff left. The guys who were happy to help me, in the early 80s, work out the value of resistor I needed for a project, pointed out I needed an inverse diode as it was running on AC, to limit the reverse voltage on the LED (A 1N4148). All in all they spent maybe 20 mins with a clueless electronics n00b to sell maybe 50p's worth of parts. And bless them for that. Pity that people like that are becoming the exception :(

          3. Robert Baker

            Re: How the sale went down

            "I have been offered - though, to be fair, some years ago - a completely incorrect IC as a substitute for the out-of-stock one I wanted... on the grounds that it had the same package and number of legs."

            Sadly, that's far from unique. Back in the days of the Civil Service Store in the Strand, London, I popped into the DIY department in the basement to buy a pair of crimping pliers. The idiot in charge told me "how about these, they've got a crimping action". Well, duh -- all pliers have *a* crimping action, but of course the reason I was asking for crimping pliers specifically was that only those have *the* specific crimping action required to fasten solderless terminals without mangling them.

            And in any case, what the pillock was trying to foist on me wasn't a pair of pliers, it was a crescent wrench. I don't know whether he was stupid, or reckoned I was (most likely both), but needless to say, I never shopped there again.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: How the sale went down

          >>> You've been shopping in PC World too much!

          Credit where it's due, I've always found Maplin staff to be really good. I've reached the limits of their knowledge more than once, but they've always been very helpful.

          I know Maplin can be more expensive than online but I still enjoy going into their shops and they're very convenient.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: How the sale went down

        Maplin's philosophy is, if you want it now, expect to pay for it.

        This would work if they had it in stock of course.

        But they only have a minimum stock level of 2 on most small items. Just a shame if you want 3 LEDs! :)

        Personally I'm tired of turning away customers who want it 'now' and Maplin still hadn't got it back in stock. Customers don't want to be told it's available from another Maplin store down the road or they can get it delivered in 3 days time!

        Maplin is about to trial a Trade Counter in some stores. But they've got no idea what to sell, as they've asked us what Tradesmen would want.

        How about a non-Rolson tool for starters?

        You've got to laugh!

        1. Stuart Halliday
          Happy

          Re: How the sale went down

          Well, you'd cry otherwise wouldn't you? :)

    2. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: How the sale went down

      The staff in my local Maplin are really helpful and know their stuff, and as far as I'm aware, they don't even offer extended warranties.

    3. Goldmember

      Re: How the sale went down

      They're a bit hit and miss, I tend to find. When I bought a soldering iron, the guys were very friendly and directed me to one with a standard mains plug, along with some recommended solder for the task. But when I went in another time and asked for a double ended IDE cable (around 10 years ago, mind), the guy I spoke to swore blind they didn't exist, and insisted you simply couldn't connect more than one device to an IDE port.

      To be honest though, nowadays I just enjoy going in and looking around at the components. The same way I enjoy a trip out to B&Q, looking at all the power tools and wishing I had a reason to buy them.

  2. Missing Semicolon Silver badge
    Trollface

    Online? That's a laugh!

    Not when "postage" on orders less than £10 is £3!

    Nowadays, you're better off with the small traders on eBay for small (hobbyist) items.

    If the prices were reasonable, and P&P really was P&P, not a small order surcharge, I might use them for odds and ends.

  3. Cosmo

    I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

    Out of the goodness of my heart, I donated my last VGA to VGA cable to a friend. When I needed one at very short notice, I made the 5 minute drive to Maplin to buy one. I wasn't assuming I could get Amazon or eBay prices, or anything, but I didn't think a VGA cable could be that expensive right?

    Wrong! The cheapest one was a tenner! Ranging upto something stupid like 27 quid, It was cheaper to order one off Amazon with next day deliver. Ridiculous.

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

      And have you seen how much they charge for a Cat5/5e UTP?

    2. eclairz

      Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

      That's just supply and demand, they probably already sold a ton of VGA cables to free up space, and kept a few for people using old monitors or projectors. You came in the store because you couldn't be asked to wait for delivery for said VGA cable = demand. Next time when stuff goes on clearance sale just buy some spares. To be honest they take too many risks selling so many different items which fail to get sold, which is why their margins are so high. If they sold only stuff that sold they could keep prices down but predicting demand is fairly difficult.

      1. John Bailey

        Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

        Yeah..

        Problem is.. very little is supplied, and the prices they demand make it daft to go there.

        These shops have had their day. Just as the old hifi shops and electronics shops that they crowded out of business have had their day.

        Replaced by a bloke with a spare bedroom and a box of components he got cheap, and is now splitting into hobbyist friendly lots.

        CPC are worth using. Free delivery, great range, and real electronic components for a competitive price.

        And they have a nice range of cheap crap to keep the kids happy too.

        Maplin.. Too expensive, too poorly stocked. Too many shop assistants who have no idea about the stock trying to sell extended warranties.

        1. Pypes

          Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

          40p for 1/4 W resistors.

          and only ever 2 in stock.

          They used to be worth keeping around for when you really needed a dozen fast recovery diodes at 4.30 on a Saturday afternoon, nowadays you've got more chance of getting them airlifted over from the popes private stash (which would probably still be cheaper)

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

            They make hardly any profit from their components section.

            Been plenty of talk of shutting that side down.

            1. Mike Pellatt

              Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

              Can't say I'm surprised.

              There's a trail of companies that used to be in components and either walked or died. Mostly the latter.

          2. Linker3000

            Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

            True - I have just bought 100 x 220 ohm 1/4W 5% resistors from another UK supplier for £1.30

            1. Alan Brown Silver badge

              Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

              It's always been cheaper to buy components in bulk. If you're buying 1-off in shops then what you're paying for is labour costs.

              I used to work for a retailer 30 years ago. Back then we'd buy in boxes of bandolier-packaged 1000 or 5000 philips 1/4W 5% resistors for $5-$10 and sell the individual resistors for 5-7c each, or a 50% discount for 100-up. Ditto on the common components like 1n4148s and 1n4007s (we didn't bother with 1n4001-4004. There's no point when people only want 1A rectifier diodes to hang on the end of a mains transformer and the items were all the same price). Nice little earner when people were building their own stuff. These days that same retailer tends to sell boxes of 1000 resistors to small-run manufacturers and individual component sales are less than 10% of what they were 30 years ago.

              Unsurprisingly, although the box price hasn't changed very much, those same resistors are now 4 times as much in 1-off quantities or are sold in minimum quantitied of 10 or 50.

        2. Mike Pellatt

          Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

          Upvote for your CPC recommendation.

          Though their big catalogue is, well, BIGGGGGG. Received one at work and at home.

        3. John Arthur
          Thumb Up

          Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

          @John Bailey: I too use CPC/Farnell and I also use Rapid Electronics. I have found both to be excellent though cannot comment on their paper catalogues as I have never asked for one. It would cost me too much in impulse purchases!

          1. John Bailey

            Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

            Don't know about Rapid, but the CPC one is big. Phone book big. They sent me one once. My purchase must have been over a certain limit or something.

            Easier to use the website.

        4. Nuke
          Meh

          CPC - Re: I knew that had got expensive... but not THAT expensive!

          But I have become worried about CPC since they started selling tents, bikes and pedal cars. Next, they will discover they can make more money selling women's fashion accessories than selling me electrical components.

          Also, some of their stuff is lousy, as well as some good, but it is hard to tell from the catalogue. I bought some stackable 4mm patch leads, and they would not even fit into each other they were such crap. I would really rather handle such things in a shop before I buy, but even then so much is bubble wrapped these days that you are not supposed to. Still, some of CPC's prices are so low it is worth the risk - I sometimes throw stuff away immediately I receive it, like those patch leads.

          I have the CPC big catalogue, and don't know how I'd manage without it because the website search facility is poor. I have seen stuff in the cat, and ordered it by typing in the cat number, but trying to find the item just by keyword searches fails completely.

          At least CPC's postage is free (for orders >£5).

  4. Headley_Grange Silver badge

    Vouchers

    I remember when the catalogue was a flimsy green affair with about 40 pages and you got vouchers for every £1 you spent. The first time I went to Southend with a girlfriend in the early 80s she couldn't understand why I dragged her off to visit the Maplin shop!

    1. Pete 2 Silver badge

      Re: Vouchers

      Yes, I remember that, too - not your girlfriend, the catalogue. Didn't it have a picture of Concorde on the front cover?

      I also remember being able to send in an order on the Thursday in one of their post-paid first-class envelopes that were included in every order and getting the swag delivered on Saturday morning.

      1. hplasm
        Pint

        Re: Vouchers

        Maplin still hold the record for my fastest delivery I have ever experienced -

        ordered something or other online at 2am (not much beer involved either) and it was on the doorstep by 9am The Same Morning...it was about 10 years ago though....

        I was impressed.

    2. Linker3000

      Re: Vouchers

      Yes, I remember those vouchets. In 1981 the MD of Maplin personally arranged for a box of catalogues to be sent to me for sale on our Electronics Club stand at our school Summer fete.

      Sadly the company is a shadow of its former self. How times and hobbies change.

      (Customer #1986)

      1. mfraz

        Re: Vouchers

        I remember in the early 90s placing an order by dialing in to their system and entering my order manually. Can't remember what the system was called though.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Vouchers

          "Can't remember what the system was called though."

          That'd probably be Maptel. The Internerd will know for sure.

          Can't remember my customer number but I still had the green catalogue not long ago.

          No idea how they expect the business to survive the next five years though. Apparently their management haven't either.

        2. A J Stiles

          Re: Vouchers

          That would be CASHTEL -- Computer Assisted SHopping by TELephone.

          You just needed a modem, a terminal emulator and a credit card. And somehow I got let loose with all three .....

      2. RubberJohnny

        Re: Vouchers

        Yes, about that time I was using the Maplin catalogue as a component data sheet, it had all the pin-outs and specs. A cut out page in the back had a form to hand write your part numbers and quantities and send off to Rayleigh. Them and the RadioShack/Tandy catalogue, hours of entertainment. Then I started work and discovered RS.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Vouchers

          "using the Maplin catalogue as a component data sheet"

          Yes, it was most spondalicious. Space ships on the front cover and excellent tech information inside. They even listed all the TV transmitters in the UK and which aerial group was required. That wasn't always easy information to get in the pre-internet days.

          As a beginning dabbler in electronics I probably learned as much from reading the Maplin catalogue as I did from books and magazines.

          I should add that like many others, the staff at our local Gateshead/Metro Centre shop are always very helpful and prices are not always that high. I got a pair of 4TB USB3 ext HDDs and their special offer price was the cheapest I could find anywhere on the interwebulator. Ditto when I needed a new tape for the label machine. I guessed which one I needed (forgot to write it down, stupid, I know!). Got in the car to leave and realised it was physically too small so went back in. They went online, found my label machine, confirmed from the pics with me and found the right tape, cancelled the sale and raised a new sale. Excellent service IMO

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Vouchers

          I couldn't believe it when Maplin removed all the good and useful data sheets from the catalog.

          Then the vouchers disappeared. Now it's £3 and we hardly sell any unless you're a pensioner who's not internet savy.

          We hate selling this paper-weight and when Maplin puts on an offer of a 'quid' if you spend more than £20 then we know a new version is about due!

      3. Adrian 4

        Re: Vouchers

        Hobbies are changing back. I've seen more stuff built by enthusiasts in the last 2 years than in the previous 20, and the online stores like Adafruit have fantastic ranges. Hackspaces are everywhere and commercial equivalents (with prices and service to match) are starting up. Maplin is picking up a bit of this : they've embraced the Arduino and Pi genres and have other useful stuff too (as well as the old dreck).

        I do think they still have a use : I might hate to pay 40p for a resistor (by the way, there's a little known discount code that makes buying 10 far more reasonable .. if they actually have 10 in stock) but when it's a choice between buying it locally at the weekend or waiting until tuesday for farnell or Rapid, I'll pay it and smile. Whether they're useful enough to kepp paying the staff is another question.

        1. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

          Re: Hobbies are changing back

          Exactly, was going to say the same myself. Electronics is finally interesting and integrating stuff you make with a computer is now well within reach of most people's ability. And yet most of the kits they sell are 30-year old analog "make a doorbell" type of stuff.

          If I were the new owners of Maplin I'd be doing short courses in the shops on programming arduinos - getting the doorbell to send you an email, or photograph who's at the door. Even non-techies would lap this up - an IT-muggle mate bought one recently to try to temperature control a fan.

          1. Linker3000

            Re: Hobbies are changing back

            Not quite - The Arduino generation can cobble together a bit of code and do a fair amount of simple analogue and digital interfacing, but ask them to throw together a Wien bridge oscillator, whip up a sensor interface with an instrumentation amplifier, generate a sawtooth with a UJT, or calculate the resonant value of an LC tuned circuit and you'll often get a puzzled look, followed by a quick trip to ebay to see if there's a shield for that.

            It's modular hacking and not pure electronics - not that there's anything wrong with that.

            Hobbies are changing - but not quite changing *back*.

            1. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge
              Meh

              Re: Hobbies are changing back

              Down vote's not from me, I agree completely and here is my puzzled look to prove it -->

              As you say though nothing wrong with that and as a software guy (and now, self-taught hardware one), digital electronics are a hell of a lot more accessible and useful for most. The fact it's largely just assembling smaller bits is precisely why Maplins could do it.

  5. jason 7
    Meh

    Yeah the staff at the Norwich city centre branch are generally a fairly human and helpful bunch. I don't require their assistance but they always say hello and I've never had to jump in to correct when I over hear them giving advice.

    I only use them for emergency "I NEED IT NOW!" stuff and when I do the prices make me wince. Usually its for the odd bits and bobs but now I have Amazon Prime I can order a 5M CAT5.e for half the price and have it turn up 10am the next morning.

    I do wonder at their strategy when I see things like graphics cards selling for £80 in their cabinet that I could get from Amazon or Ebuyer for £30.

    How many £1 special offer keyring screwdrivers do you need to sell to keep you afloat?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The store on Norwich outer ring road is well placed for me to drop in on the way home if I need something.

      I thought a 5A 2-wire cable connector for repairing a power tool lead a fair price. (certainly far more cost effective than buying the official Black & Decker part). Probably didn't help the bottom line much, but then neither did the £1 torch-on-a-stand I got at the same time.

  6. Suricou Raven

    Maplin?

    They used to sell components, didn't they?

    The last time I went in a Maplin store was for an urgently needed fiber cable - just your basic ST-ST. The staff had no idea what one was, and they didn't keep any in stock. Website only, they said.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Maplin?

      Maplin only hires (mostly) guys fresh from school who are fairly computer literal (not hard these days). But they give no real training. The QA thing they had was a joke. Written by idiots to be filled in by the ignorant (us). So after many complaints it was scrapped. :)

      I'm in my 20s. But as soon as my HND is finished I'll be off and the customer will get an idiot staff member who's just left nursery and can't tell a TOS lead from a Fibre Optic lead. ;)

      We have virtually no older, experienced shop staff. Now ask yourself why that is?

    2. Alan Brown Silver badge

      Re: Maplin?

      You'd have to be pretty desperate to buy any FC or ethernet cable at a retail.

      Trade pricing through outfits like Insight/misco, etc is usually 50%+ off their catalogue proicing and THAT'S still significantly cheaper than PC whirled or Maplin,

      The going rate for 2m cat6 is about 75p where I buy - booted or snagless and outfits like Maplins pay alot less than that. The margins are incredible, but their sales figures suck and the buyout price reflects it (raising prices to cover for low sales has the effect that only the ignorant or desparate shop there, further depressing figures. I do wander around Maplin from time to time and pick up things if they're cheap but 9/10 visits are sale-less.

      If Gadget Shops can't stay in business, I don't see how Maplins will survive on the high street for much longer.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another way to help their bottom line would be to sell things to mainland Europe.

    A couple of times they have had something I wanted (available in small quantities whereas over here it was only available from wholesalers) but it was, a) only available on line, b) could only be delivered to a UK address and c) they couldn't guarantee a delivery day. Not a very helpful way to do business.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ahh Maplin - the company that was quite serious when it was selling gold plated car battery connectors and stating that coating the bolt on lead connectors with gold made the ICE sound better....

    1. Mike Pellatt

      Oh yes, remember that.

      They should have patented that business model and then gone after Monster.

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