Wiggle Ltd

Wiggle Ltd
Private
Industry Online sports retail
Founded 1999 (1999)
Founder Mitch Dall, Harvey Jones
Headquarters Portsmouth, England, UK
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Stefan Barden (CEO)
Products Triathlon equipment. Bicycles, components and accessories. Running shoes and apparel. Swimming products. Outdoor and casual sports apparel. Tools etc.
Revenue £179 million (FY14)[1]
Profit £13.2 (FY14) - EBITDA
Number of employees
 c.400
Website www.wiggle.co.uk

Wiggle Ltd is an online retailer of cycle, run, swim and triathlon products, based in Portsmouth, Great Britain.

Wiggle started as a small independent bike shop called Butler Cycles, located in Portsmouth. Mitch Dall, Wiggle's founder took an interest in the shop and bought the property in 1995, under the condition that it would continue to operate as a bike retailer for a period of five years.

Butler Cycles moved to Hayling Avenue and changed its name to “Bikes @ Butlers”, to highlight its interest in on-line trading.

Wiggle officially started trading on the 28th May 1999, with an initial investment of £2,000 by Mitch Dall and Harvey Jones. The company demonstrated rapid growth in its early years.

In 2002, a premises in Jackson Close, Portsmouth was identified as the base to take the company to the next level.

Between 2002 and 2009, Wiggle continued to experience strong progression.

In 2009, Dall sold his 26 percent stake in the company to the ISIS-led buyout group (later named Livingbridge). ISIS also owns Fisher Outdoor Leisure, a UK wholesaler of bicycle parts.

Humphrey Cobbold became chief executive of the company in 2009, and Andrew Bond, former chief executive of Asda, joined the board. Annual sales revenue had reached £55 million.[2]

By 2011, annual revenue was £86 million and ISIS considered taking the company public in an initial public offering,[3] with the company's overall value estimated at £200m,[4] and pre-tax profits having risen from £7.1m to £10.2m in the year to January 2011, following a 123 percent increase in international sales.[5]

The expansion of Wiggle continued – a new London office for IT and Wiggle’s own brands was set up in the Borough Market area of London in early 2011 and two new warehouses were acquired.

In December 2011, the company was sold to Bridgepoint Capital for £180m.[6] Bridgepoint specialises in investing in middle market businesses, and Wiggle were able to launch 11 new websites for overseas consumers in 2012.

In September 2013, Stefan Barden joined Wiggle as CEO, formerly the CEO of Northern Foods, Heinz UK & Ireland and Brakes Uk & Ireland.

Since Barden's appointment, Wiggle has continued to expand at a rapid pace, in multiple business areas.

In June 2014, the main office premises moved from Harbourgate Business Park, to a modern office facility at Lakeside 1000, also in Portsmouth.

In March 2015, the company appointed Brian McBride as Chairman.

In the summer of 2015, Wiggle moved its main warehouse premises to 'Citadel' – a super-warehouse in Wolverhampton, with 323,000 square feet of storage. Although Wiggle had open several workshop concessions in Homebase stores, it closed them all in October 2015. [7]

Wiggle currently sells over 50,000 SKUs and has more than 700 third-party brands, as well as own-brand labels such as dhb, Lifeline, Verenti and Eastway.

References

  1. ↑ "Wiggle 'winning market share' with sales of £179 million".
  2. ↑ Zoe Wood. "Wiggle puts enthusiast in the saddle in pursuit of the 'mamil'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  3. ↑ Zoe Wood. "Wiggle considers IPO as cycling becomes the new golf". The Observer. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  4. ↑ "Wiggle cycles to flotation or sale". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Wiggle founder". The Daily Telegraph. 2009-05-02.
  6. ↑ "The Business On... Humphrey Cobbold, chief executive, Wiggle". The Independent. 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  7. ↑ http://road.cc/content/news/166647-wiggle-close-homebase-servicing-concessions-just-year-after-opening
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