Kleeneze is a British homeware company operating throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

providing everyday laundry and cleaning staples and appliances, to UK retailers. Founded in 1923 in Hanham,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, it is now owned by Manchester-based brands house Ultimate Products, as part of their wider portfolio of homeware brands.

History

The company's founder, Harry Crook, emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and whilst there joined Fuller Brush as a sales representative. He returned to Bristol several years later, and started a business making brushes which were sold

door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pr ...

by salesmen. In 1995, Kleeneze was bought by European Home Retail (EHR). The company was bought by

Findel PLC Studio, (formerly part of Findel plc) is a British home shopping business and is a wholly owned subsidy of the Frasers Group. Studio was founded in 1962 under the name "Fine Art Developments". It operates online and through catalogues and c ...

in 2007, after the collapse of EHR. In 2015, Findel sold Kleeneze to CVSL, an American holding company, as part of their MLM portfolio. The company remained at its original Hanham site for almost 80 years. In May 2004, the company relocated its headquarters and distribution centre to Warmley. In 2007, after the acquisition by Findel, it was announced that the company would move to

Hyndburn Hyndburn is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington, the largest town, and the borough also covers the outlying ...

. In 2016, funding was obtained from

Greater Manchester Combined Authority The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members: 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one ...

for Kleeneze to set up a warehouse and distribution centre in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

. Kleeneze was a founder member of the UK's

Direct Selling Association The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is a trade association in the United States that represents direct selling companies, primarily those that use multi-level marketing compensation plans. On behalf of its members' companies, the DSA engages i ...

until 2017. Kleeneze went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

under the firm FRP Advisory on 12 April 2018. This was due to a period of rough trading and operational issues following its 2017 move to Heywood which had caused the company to seek a buyer to save the business. At the time, the company reported 140 jobs and 5,000 distributors. In 2018, Kleeneze was purchased by Ultimate Products, a brand house for housewares and cleaning products. The brand continues to supply cleaning staples and household supplies. The brand was relaunched with a focus on floorcare and laundry products but through retail and online channels, after the previous door to door magazines sales mantra had failed to adapt to an increasing online demand from consumers.

References

External links

* Retail companies of the United Kingdom Defunct multi-level marketing companies Retail companies established in 1923 History of Bristol Companies based in Hyndburn British brands 1923 establishments in England Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom Marketing companies established in 1923 British companies established in 1923 {{UK-company-stub