Robert Dyas () is a British retailer, originally founded in London in 1872 as an

ironmongery Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

. It operates 93

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

stores, predominately in

Southern England Southern England, also known as the South of England or the South, is a sub-national part of England. Officially, it is made up of the southern, south-western and part of the eastern parts of England, consisting of the statistical regions of ...

, as well as an online business. Its product range consists of

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

items, electrical appliances, kitchenwares and seasonal stock. Since 2012 Robert Dyas has been owned by Theo Paphitis, the entrepreneur and long-time star of BBC's ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it ...

''.

History

Robert Dyas emigrated to England from County Meath, Ireland, and with an inheritance of just £5 he opened his first shop in the capital in 1872. By the time of his death at the age of 66 he had established 18 shops. His sons took over after that, followed by his two grandsons who died in 1961 and 2002. Robert Dyas has survived several catastrophes including the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and the Blitz in which the head office, warehouse and 18 shops were destroyed. In 1997, Robert Dyas's head office and warehouse burnt down in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

; the head office is now in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, after a time in

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. In March 2004, Robert Dyas was bought by Change Capital Partners, a

private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...

headed by former

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

chairman Luc Vandevelde. By spring 2009, the company had come close to collapse with rumoured debts of £30 million.BBC News: Management to buy out Robert Dyas
/ref> Change Capital Partners had lost control of the company to

Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Banking Group plc is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds B ...

and Allied Irish Banking Group who owned the debt. Following a management buy-out, backed by the

on 8 April steps were taken by September of that year to secure its viability through a debt-for-equity deal that gave its lenders a majority stake in the chain. In 2010–2011, Robert Dyas introduced a new trading format, increased its online offering and expanded the use of web kiosks and browsers. The company was put up for sale in November 2011 by the Lloyds Banking Group and Allied Irish Banking Group. Following a sale process led by Cavendish Corporate Finance, the company was successfully sold in July 2012 to Theo Paphitis.

Shops and products

Robert Dyas currently operates 93 standalone shops (down from 97 in April 2014). Shops vary in size from a large right down to . Shop count has also decreased at Ryman Limited, likewise owned by Theo Paphitis, with shops closed at lease expiry. This has led to a decreased turnover by 2.5%. Shops are mainly found in London and the south east of England, but also exist as far away as

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 ...

in the West and

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

and

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

in the West Midlands. In 2013 a rolling program of introducing electronic displays into shops was started. Now 20 shops have both electronic screens in shops, showing infomercials, plus screens in front windows showing electronic posters. Shop teams in some locations also use portable tablets to help customer purchasing decisions and improve their overall shopping experience. The product range is primarily focused on housewares, 'end of line' products as special offers and light DIY. Core departments include kitchenware, vacuums and kitchen appliances, steam cleaning, cleaning chemicals and laundry products, garden care, outdoor leisure, DIY tools and materials, home office and technology. The business has also expanded into seasonal gifting ranges at key times of the year.

Advertising

In December 2015, the company gained attention for its Christmas advert, in which staff and customers announce their sexual orientation while demonstrating products.

References

External links

Official website

''Times'' interview with Steven Round
20 April 2007
BBC: Theo Paphitis Buys Robert Dyas
10 July 2012
Retail Week report; "Robert Dyas profits surge under Theo Paphitis"
31 July 2013 {{commonscat, Robert Dyas Home improvement companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1872