Hillarys Blinds
|
Hillarys Logo | |
| Hillarys | |
| Private limited company | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded |
1971 Nottingham |
| Founder | Tony Hillary |
| Headquarters | Colwick, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52°57′19″N 1°05′00″W / 52.955306°N 1.0833924°WCoordinates: 52°57′19″N 1°05′00″W / 52.955306°N 1.0833924°W |
Number of locations |
(2015) |
Area served | United Kingdom |
Key people | John Risman, CEO |
| Slogan | "You'll love what we do" |
| Website |
www |
"Hillary's Blinds" is a manufacturer and retailer of made-to-measure window blinds, window shutters, curtains, and awnings. The company has its head office at Nottingham, England and manufacturing facilities in Nottingham and Washington, Tyne and Wear. The company employs about 1,000 workers, including personnel in sales and marketing, ICT, customer service, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution.
History
Hillary's Blinds was established in 1971 by Tony Hillary, who originally made blinds in a converted garage at his home in Nottingham. At first, only Venetian blinds and vertical blinds were available, but roller blinds were introduced in 1974. In 1978, production moved to a factory employing 100 people and four shops opened in Nottingham, Leicester, Workington and Spennymoor.
In 1982, a second factory opened in Washington, Tyne and Wear, making blinds for customers in the north of England and Scotland. This increased production to approximately 1,000 blinds per week. In 1985, a new factory and head office opened in Nottingham. During the 1990s, more shops opened throughout the UK, bringing the total number of outlets to 18.
In 2000, Tony Hillary sold Hillary's Blinds to a management buyout team backed by Close Brothers Private Equity.[1] In 2002, about 1,000 people were employed by the company, and sales had reached £70 million.
To mark the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Washington, Tyne and Wear in 2003, Hillary's manufactured the world’s largest vertical blind. It measured 20.1 meters wide and 8.3 meters tall, which is 75 times larger than the average-sized blind manufactured by Hillary's.[2]
In 2004, Hillary's announced a secondary management buyout backed by Change Capital Partners.[3]
In 2005, a program to close the Hillary's shops took place. A specialist products division was established in 2007 to concentrate on the company's higher value products: conservatory blinds, carpets, shutters, and awnings. in the same year European Capital became financial backers and sales reached £100 million.[4]
In 2008, a new production facility opened in the Bilborough area of Nottingham, on the Glaisdale Drive Industrial Estate.
References
- ↑ "News in brief: Close Brothers backs Hillary's new management". Efinancialnews.com. 15 May 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ↑ "Guinness World Records". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20110912051444/http://www.changecapitalpartners.com/news/read/6847ecf318d00633bab67303ac40fe17. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20110912051037/http://www.changecapitalpartners.com/exits/read/3e0bf639f910d8789924d8767149f437. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. Missing or empty
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