The Range (retailer)

In 1980, Chris Dawson started business as an open-air market trader in Plymouth, South West England.

His first physical retail store opened in 1989 at Sugar Mill Business Park on Billacombe Road, Plymouth, under the name "C.D.S. Superstores".[1] This trading style continues to be displayed on external signs exclusively at this debut store only,[2] as a nod to the heritage of the business.

The business was subsequently rebranded "The Range" in the early 1990s after further store openings. "The Range" is the trading name of CDS (Superstores International) Ltd.

In September 2023, the company acquired discount retailer Wilko's brand, website and intellectual property for an undisclosed sum after Wilko collapsed into administration a month earlier.[3]

Chris Dawson, the founder of the business, was chief executive officer between 1989 and 2017.

Jersey based Sarah Dawson wholly owns the parent company's shares with her husband Chris Dawson listed as a person with significant control.[4]

Chris Dawson was ranked fifth in Management Today's seventh annual survey of Britain's Top 100 Entrepreneurs.

The Range sells a diverse and large assortment of products, their marketing often referencing a product range of over 65,000 products.[5] Products sold are a combination of branded, non-branded, and own-branded goods in the broad home, garden and leisure categories.

The Range has expanded rapidly. In 2009, The Range was ranked 121st on The Sunday Times, PricewaterhouseCoopers Top Track, and 250 League Table of the United Kingdom's fastest growing companies.

The business regularly announces new store openings in large tranches, for example in November 2013, it was announced that The Range planned to open 40 stores in the period of 2013 to 2016.[6] New store openings such as the Swansea store[7] regularly gain local press attention.

Many of the stores in Ireland are repurposed stores/retail warehouses that have been left by other brands including Woolworths, Tesco,[8] Homebase and Atlantic Homecare[9]

During 2016 and 2017, The Range opened stores in both Northern Ireland[10] and the Republic of Ireland for the first time. Chris Dawson, the chain's billionaire owner has previously indicated he has European expansion plans, including 1,000 stores across Europe.[11] The retailer currently operates a total of 211 stores, including a brand new concept store in Derriford, Plymouth.

The Range have also expanded e-commerce operations significantly in recent years. The business was recognised in 2017 as a leading multi-channel retailer in the Internet Retailing UK Top 250[12] and the EU Top 350[13] indices.

The vast majority of stores are situated in out-of-town retail park locations, with some exceptions such as the four Greater London stores at Surrey Quays, Enfield, Romford and Watford. The Range also occupies some shopping centre locations such as the Redditch store.[14] Various design iterations of the store branding and format have been used as the brand has evolved. Stores are geographically dispersed across all regions of the United Kingdom & the Republic of Ireland.

Many stores also include a "Dee Dee's", an own-brand coffee shop concept operated by Compass Group[15] and found only within The Range stores. Newer, larger stores offer an Iceland food department (paid for at main tills),[16] and the cafes in stores with Iceland are branded 'Iceland Cafe'.[17] Some stores also host concessions such as rug cleaner hire or key cutting services.

The Range operates over 2,000,000 sq ft of distribution space, mostly from their facilities at Avonmouth, Bristol and Thorne, Doncaster.

The Avonmouth distribution centre has an area of over 1,250,000 sq ft[18] and is the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom.[19][20]

The Thorne distribution centre has an area of over 750,000 sq ft.[21]

The Range Head Office used to be in the Estover area of Plymouth, but in 2019 it was relocated to a new building named ‘Elsie Margaret House’. It is in the Derriford area of Plymouth next door to the flagship store. It employs over 300 people.[22]

The new head office was part of a major development by London-based property developer Petros and was set to include residential, retail, hospitality and office space. Dawson has indicated a long-held ambition to commit The Range to a long-term future and its head office jobs to Plymouth, the city where he has lived most of his life.[23]

• The Range