In Retail Week’s recent ranking of who the top 30 retailers in the UK will be by 2026, The Range and Adidas were the two new entries that are set to take the 28th and 30th spot respectively.
According to the data, The Range is forecast to grow 7% over the next three years – second only to Amazon at 7.5%.
But how will the variety retailer manage to climb the rankings and eliminate ecommerce giant eBay from a spot in the top 30? Retail Week analyses how The Range, whose colourful founder Chris Dawson began life selling fish out the back of a van with his father, has quietly become a force to be reckoned with.
Stores and supply chain
Before the pandemic, The Range was showing little growth as a multichannel retailer. Online sales were flat between 2017 and 2019, and UK sales increased by just 3.2% in 2019.
Since 2020, however, The Range has ploughed investment into new stores as well as in its supply chain and technology.
As lockdown hit, The Range saw a huge demand for its products and benefited from its essential retailer status meaning it could continue trading from stores. Sales for that year were up 35% compared to 2019 and have risen steadily since.
“As one of the UK’s fastest expanding retailers, it currently trades from 205 stores across the country and still claims to be targeting a network of 600 stores,” says Retail Week senior analyst Wendy Massey.
“This is probably on the ambitious side and may have been tempered since the pandemic, but it does underline its zealous growth plans.
“We expect trading to remain strong over the next five years as The Range’s staunch value stance chimes well with cash-strapped consumers.”
New stores are set to open in Dalton Park, County Durham, in May and Telford in April, and the company has confirmed the opening of a flagship store at the former Debenhams site in Chelsmford in the summer.
The Range chief executive Alex Simpkin adds: “We broke ground on one of the largest warehouse developments to be built in the UK in five years, a state-of-the-art 1.2 million sq ft distribution unit located at Gateway 14, Suffolk.
”As well as injecting millions of pounds into the economy and creating thousands of jobs, the distribution centre’s proximity to the Port of Felixstowe will help us improve distribution to our expanding network of stores in the Midlands, South and East of UK.”
Online offering
Another key to The Range’s growth has been its online offering, which was integral throughout 2020/21 as it took the opportunity to ride the wave of growth in online shopping due to lockdowns.
Online sales soared by 200% in this period, and Retail Week Prospect analysts estimate this now accounts for 10% of its total sales.
“The Range has an extensive online offer of 140,000 product lines and has a more premium feel than that of its competitors,” says Massey.
“It brought in Glen Richardson, who was the former chief marketing and technology officer at Ideal Shopping Direct, as its chief omnichannel officer at the beginning of 2021 and he has overseen a move to much more engaging content.”
As online engagement continues to be high, management is looking to grow its online presence to make up 20% of The Range’s total sales over the next few years.
If it wants to keep driving ecommerce sales and brand awareness, Massey believes the retailer should focus on international growth and strengthen its recognition in Europe.
Standing out from the pack
While there is difficulty in standing out in a category dominated by B&M and Home Bargains, Simpkin believes continuing the growth strategy forged during the pandemic is helping The Range differentiate itself.
“It’s currently a very challenging retail climate, yet while many of our competitors have scaled back, we are in fact striving forwards with an aggressive growth strategy,” he says.
”We have plans to increase our store portfolio while adding thousands of new value-added products to our rapidly expanding ecommerce business.”
In a post-pandemic world where online sales are normalising and customers are feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis, The Range’s strong value proposition and extensive offer mean it is well placed to navigate these challenges.
“We recently launched a new Unbelievable Value range,” says Simpkin. ”This pocket-friendly selection of products is constantly growing and comprises thousands of products from all categories including home decor, garden furniture, paints, DIY, pet food, kitchenware and bedding to garden accessories and starts from as little as £1.”
The business is profitable and it reported an operating margin of nearly 10% in 2021/22, which will support its expansion plans.
With its extensive online offer, value products and a growing store portfolio across the UK, The Range has surpassed its humble origins and is becoming a true retailing giant.
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