Glen Dimplex Group in Successful Bid for Britannia Living
27/09/13 14:40 Filed in: Rangecookers News
Irish-owned Glen Dimplex Group, who manufacture Stoves, Belling and New World brands here in the UK as GDHA, have made a successful bid for Britannia Living. This should be very good news for the previously independent and venture-capital owned company, who distribute their own prestigious Britannia and Italian Bertazzoni brands from their Blackpool headquarters, where it is very much business as usual.
As far as the product line-up, stock availability, deliveries and warranties go Britannia and Bertazzoni customers need have no worries, as we are informed that there is no plan to make any significant changes to what is proving to be a very well-received product range, including a brand new Britannia collection launched only a couple of months ago. We expect there will be some consolidation on the administration and accounting side of things, but GDHA should prove an interesting new custodian for Britannia Living as a going concern.
As with many tight-knit and relatively small businesses, Britannia has always been a great company to deal with, with a family feel amongst the personnel who all share a genuine passion to do things the right way for their discerning customer base. Consequently, their brochure and marketing materials are always top-notch, their communications very sharp and their delivery and after-sales service has a great reputation. We hope they manage to retain these important qualities under the new ownership, and it has to be said that GDHA may be a much larger and more corporate organisation but they are at pains to deal with customers and suppliers on a very human level, and have won many an award for the quality of their customer service. Denver Hewlett, the CEO of GDHA in the UK, is a very hands-on individual who we know has always been a fan of the Britannia brand, so we are confident that Britannia Living, a significant player in the UK market, is in a safe pair of hands.
As far as range cooking goes, GDHA are a manufacturer and a great player in the middle-market area but have so far been shy of stretching their brand portfolio into the prestige end of the market, unlike their main competitor Aga-Rangemaster, who use Rangemaster, Falcon and Mercury (plus Redfyre and La Cornue) to cover a wide spectrum. The Britannia and Bertazzoni brands are distribution-based Italian appliances which will allow them to have a presence at this end of the market without re-inventing the wheel or stretching too thin their flagship Stoves brand, although we feel there is certainly some elasticity there.
to see the new Britannia 2013 collection, HERE for Bertazzoni
No Concerns for Customers
As far as the product line-up, stock availability, deliveries and warranties go Britannia and Bertazzoni customers need have no worries, as we are informed that there is no plan to make any significant changes to what is proving to be a very well-received product range, including a brand new Britannia collection launched only a couple of months ago. We expect there will be some consolidation on the administration and accounting side of things, but GDHA should prove an interesting new custodian for Britannia Living as a going concern.
Safe Pair of Hands
As with many tight-knit and relatively small businesses, Britannia has always been a great company to deal with, with a family feel amongst the personnel who all share a genuine passion to do things the right way for their discerning customer base. Consequently, their brochure and marketing materials are always top-notch, their communications very sharp and their delivery and after-sales service has a great reputation. We hope they manage to retain these important qualities under the new ownership, and it has to be said that GDHA may be a much larger and more corporate organisation but they are at pains to deal with customers and suppliers on a very human level, and have won many an award for the quality of their customer service. Denver Hewlett, the CEO of GDHA in the UK, is a very hands-on individual who we know has always been a fan of the Britannia brand, so we are confident that Britannia Living, a significant player in the UK market, is in a safe pair of hands.
Prestige Brands for GDHA
As far as range cooking goes, GDHA are a manufacturer and a great player in the middle-market area but have so far been shy of stretching their brand portfolio into the prestige end of the market, unlike their main competitor Aga-Rangemaster, who use Rangemaster, Falcon and Mercury (plus Redfyre and La Cornue) to cover a wide spectrum. The Britannia and Bertazzoni brands are distribution-based Italian appliances which will allow them to have a presence at this end of the market without re-inventing the wheel or stretching too thin their flagship Stoves brand, although we feel there is certainly some elasticity there.
With some more general clout and additional marketing resources available, we look forward to seeing the Britannia and Bertazzoni brands become further embedded in the minds of their discerning customers, and wish the Britannia Living and GDHA teams all the best for a successful future together.
to see the new Britannia 2013 collection, HERE for Bertazzoni